Perhaps you have considered selling your home. Maybe your family is growing and needs more space, or you want to move closer to work. Perhaps you want to live near better schools in a nicer neighborhood. You may also be concerned about selling your home in our unpredictable economy. So, what is the right time to sell? How will you know? While there are no guarantees, there are several factors that can improve your chances of selling your home.
Find Your Motivation
It is important to know the motivation behind selling. How quickly do you want to sell your home? Is it a buyers market or do sellers have the advantage? Are you merely upgrading or do you need to move for work? Determining the answers to these questions can help you decide if you really want to sell your home now or if it is in your best interest to wait a few months.
Do A Little Research
If your answers to the questions above tell you that now is the time to sell, do a little research. Find out about recent sales in your neighborhood. It will help to calculate the per square foot selling price of comparable homes. This number will give you a close estimate of the current market value of your property and help you set the sales price. You can also get a free estimate of what your home is worth:
Set The Stage
When selling your home, you want the property to look its best. Stand on the sidewalk and look at your home. How is the curb appeal? Does the lawn need watering, or does the house need a new coat of paint? Taking care of these small things can add tons of curb appeal and make selling easier. Inside, clean each room until it shines and steam the carpets. Removing clutter, personal photos, and unnecessary furniture will make your home appear larger and give potential buyers the opportunity to envision it as their own.
Selling Now
The real estate market is better for sellers than it has been in the past three years. With the market is strengthening, buyers have the opportunity to sell now before the market potentially becomes flooded with homes for sale. In several areas, home sales have already jumped by several percentage points and homes are beginning to sit on the market a little longer. Even so, home prices are finally regaining some ground after the slump … making now a great time to sell.
