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What you should know when selling a house
Sell your property with confidence
Making a big decision is never easy, especially when you’re aware it will affect your entire life. How should you know if it’s the right time for you to sell your property, the place where you most likely spent many years and is filled with memories? This is always a serious step and it’s best to have someone you can trust guiding you throughout the process. Here’s a short guide we’ve prepared to help you decide if you’re ready for the big step.
The annual real estate doldrums …
Selling advice will likely differ in several ways, but there’s one time of year that most experts believe can present the most challenge when it comes to listing a home: wintertime.
"Between the holiday season and, in some parts of the country, the weather, there could potentially be fewer buyers incentivized to disrupt their lives and move into a new home, which means they aren’t really thinking about shopping for one, either -- at least in some markets."
And fewer buyers presents more challenges for you as a seller.
… And the peak selling season
Just as some may say it's more challenging to sell your home in the winter, springtime is commonly considered one of the best times of the year to achieve your home's top market value
"Buyers are interested in making a fresh start, yards look lush and green, days are starting to get longer, and tax season gives some buyers a leap ahead on any down payment savings."
So does that mean you should sell in the springtime? Maybe so … just keep in mind that other sellers could have the same idea, and there will be competition in the form of more homes available on the market.
Does the day of the week matter?
Actually, it might. According to a couple of different studies, homes that were listed on Thursday or Friday have been found to sell in the shortest length of time for slightly higher prices than other homes.
It’s possible that the timing of the weekend is what’s honing Thursday’s and Friday’s edge over the other days of the week. Buyers are more likely to have time to schedule home tours or attend open houses over the weekend, and there are likely to be more of those buyers looking at each house (and therefore more chances of getting an offer, or maybe even multiple offers).
Timing isn’t everything
Even if you've taken all the steps to list your home with your best foot forward and you’ve done all you can to make your home stand out amongst all the rest on the market, there’s one most important factor to get right: Pricing your home appropriately from the beginning.
Some sellers don’t think this is the huge deal that it really (really!) is. Serious buyers sign up to property watch lists and get an alert as soon as a home is listed on the MLS. Most of the buyers who could buy your home are going to see its listing within the first 48 hours of that listing being “live.”
So you get one big chance to make your home’s big debut in front of the market's buyers. And if you set the price too high (or far too low, for that matter), you could miss out on your very best offer.