Posted on
Thursday, January 17, 2019
It's that time of the year again, when people are looking for new starts and fresh beginnings. It's also, for a host of reasons, one of the best parts of the year in which to sell a home.
With the property portals experiencing record traffic over the festive period, the first few months of the new year are a time when tentative interest or home-buying plans formed over Christmas are acted upon.
Interest in your home is likely to increase in January and February, but there are still things you can do to improve your chances of selling, whether your home's been on the market for a while now or you've only just listed it.
Below, we take a closer look at the property selling New Year's resolutions you should be making.
Unlike normal New Year's resolutions, which may soon be broken, it would be a good move to stick to these as much as possible!
Employ a flexible approach
Busy, time-poor people will appreciate – perhaps more than anything else – flexibility and adaptability when it comes to house sales. If you can facilitate viewings at times that suit would-be buyers, this is likely to please them greatly.
As long as the demands aren't completely, then try your best to be as accommodating as you can to the needs of prospective buyers.
When it comes to the viewings themselves, timing is also going to be important. Your home is likely to look better in the day – and even more so on crisp, sunny winter mornings. You can't control the weather, of course, but if you can arrange for viewings to take place in the day you will have a better opportunity to show your house off at its best.
You'll also be able to show off any garden space you have more easily (which, for families and older buyers in particular, is likely to be a major selling point).
You may also need to be flexible when it comes to asking prices. While you absolutely don't want to undervalue your home, overvaluing it will simply drive buyers away.
Work closely with your estate agent to set an asking price that takes into consideration local and national trends and other variables and is therefore fair and realistic.
Make sure you're available
This might sound obvious, but it's something that sellers can easily get complacent about. Good communication is everything when it comes to house sales, so it's vital that you're on hand to respond to any correspondence from your agent, solicitor or buyer to prevent or reduce the chances of delays occurring.
While small delays are usually inevitable in most sales, responding promptly and efficiently to emails, letters and phone calls will help to keep hold-ups to a minimum.
When you are trying to sell your home, it might be a wise idea to push back any holidays or trips away until after you've sold your home. Although putting life completely on hold won't be necessary, you might have to make a few sacrifices here and there to push a sale over the line.
Equally, being available for viewings as much as possible will do your chances of selling no harm at all. Whether you are carrying out the viewings yourself (or your agent is doing so on your behalf), work to get as many eyes on your property as you can.
Re-evaluate your sales strategy
If you've only just brought your house to market, this won't be necessary, but if you listed just before Christmas or towards the end of last year and haven't yet sold your home, it might be a good idea to step back, take stock and see what you could do better.
Are you targeting the right kind of buyers? Is your asking price set fairly and realistically? Could your property adverts be more striking and eye-catching? Are you making enough use of both traditional and online marketing methods?
These questions, and others, are ones you might want to be asking yourself to improve your chances of selling. Again, work closely with your agent to review what you're doing right and what you could be doing better.
More than anything, of course, a home that looks the part and is attractive to buyers is of the utmost importance. Ultimately your home will be the deciding factor for buyers, but there are things outside of this you can do to increase your selling prospects.
Make sure your home is clean, welcoming and pleasing on the eye, and ensure your home's exterior is also up to scratch.
Why Keys & Lee?
We've been selling property in and around Romford since 1979, so we have years of experience and local knowledge to call upon when selling your home. We know buyers prefer agents with an excellent understanding of the local area in which they're selling, and we have that in abundance.
As a result of our strong local knowledge, we regularly enjoy repeat business from those who trust in the work we do.
We will also make sure your home is valued at the right price to ensure it doesn't overstay its welcome on the market. As well as that, we can help your home stand out on the portals with professionally taken photos, snappy descriptions and 3D floor plans.
Speaking of the portals, we fully appreciate the power and reach of Zoopla, Rightmove and PrimeLocation, and boost your listing further by using additional tools such as 'Premium Listings' (which can increase exposure by up to 30%). Furthermore, your home will appear heavily on our website and across our various social media platforms.
Other things we offer are accompanied viewings, a dedicated point of contact during the sales process and a digital platform to keep you informed and updated on the progress of your sale.
To find out more about how Keys & Lee can sell your home in Romford and other East London locations, contact us on: 01708 766 241.
You can also request a free instant online valuation for an estimate of your property's current worth.
