Attracting the Discerning Buyer
With rising interest rates comes the inevitable slowing down of the housing market, which has some home sellers wondering how they could attract more high-level buyers. In this post, we’ll present some tried and true tips for making homes more attractive to the now more scrupulous buyer.
Improve A Home’s Curb Appeal
Anyone who’s ever watched HGTV knows about curb appeal, but home sellers rarely take the advice to heart when selling their own homes. Curb appeal can make the difference between “love at first sight” and “not in this life”. In fact, homes with high curb appeal sell seven percent more often than homes without according to the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics.
Although it seems like a daunting task, increasing a home’s curb appeal could often be done easily and inexpensively with just a few improvements. Homeowners can paint the front door an eye-catching color, plant a few fast-growing trees, install window boxes or decorative shutters, clean and pressure wash the exterior of the home and driveway, replace an outdated mailbox, display house numbers, and update the exterior lighting.
Declutter and Depersonalize
Potential buyers want to be able to imagine their future selves in a space, not the current residents’ lives. That’s why an experienced real estate professional will always urge a homeowner to declutter and depersonalize their home before putting it on the market. Homeowners should remove any unnecessary items and furniture, along with any object that may connect the house to them. These items include family photos, children’s drawings, and anything with the residents’ names on it. The refrigerator, desk, and counters should also be free of any clutter.
Home buyers typically look around a home to see if their current life fits in the space. For instance, they may look in drawers, cabinets, and closets to inspect a home’s storage capacity. Decluttering storage spaces allows sellers to show the storage potential of their homes.
Make a Home Feel New
Home buyers don’t want to feel like they are walking into someone else’s old home, even though in many cases that is exactly what they are doing. Home sellers should prepare a home as if they were expecting esteemed guests to stay a while. A home should be deep cleaned from top to bottom, paying particular attention to surfaces, cabinets, and walls. Old bathroom towels and bathmats can be replaced with bright clean ones. Any sheets and throw blankets may also be replaced to ensure the spaces look fresh to new eyes.
Deodorizing a space can also go a long way, and infusing the room with a fresh clean (but not overpowering scent) might just be the icing on the cake. Scented candles in lavender, vanilla, pine, and citrus are experienced real estate agents’ top picks when it comes to creating a mood through smell.
Enhance a Home’s “Flow”
One room should flow seamlessly into the other in a way that a person walking through a home won’t have to make too many adjustments due to strange room layouts or bulky furniture. Often what works best for a seller’s family doesn’t present the home in its best light. A home should be arranged in a way that is most welcoming to the greatest number of potential buyers.
Home Staging
Eight-five percent of staged homes sell for five to twenty-three percent over their listing price according to the National Association of Realtors and Professional Staging. Considering that the median price for a home in Miami-Dade County is currently over $500,000, staging a home could earn a seller an additional $25,000 to $115,000. This is why about twenty-eight percent of listing agents choose to stage a seller’s home before putting it on the market. A report by the National Association of Realtors found that a staged living room was “very important” to buyers, followed by a staged master bedroom.
Professional Staging With Compass Concierge
Due to the significant return on investment, many home sellers elect to work with a staging professional. With Miami Signature Homes’ Compass Concierge, an experienced agent guides sellers as they engage with vendors and commission work. A home seller pays for these upgrades when the home sells, the listing agreement is terminated, or when twelve months have passed since Concierge services began.
Speak To Miami’s Luxury Real Estate Expert
The very best way to attract high-level buyers is to speak with a dedicated and knowledgeable real estate expert. Miami Signature Homes President and luxury real estate advisor, Mauricio J. Barba is respected in his native community by clients and colleagues alike; he has logged top honors for elite performance in his field. Mauricio is connected worldwide but specializes in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne, Brickell, Village of Pinecrest, South Miami, Palmetto Bay/Falls area, and the Beaches.
The Miami Signature Homes team is relatively small compared to their sales volume. That has been important in keeping relationships with clients at a very direct level. Mauricio, Tania, Vicky, and Sebastian each maintain strong personal connections and professional relationships with all of their clients, many of which have been with the team for decades.
This personal level of service allows each team member to devote individual attention and care to every home sale or search. Assistants are great, but Miami Signature Homes makes sure their principals are the people solely responsible for returning essential calls or emails 24/7, 365 days a year.
If you insist on expertise and dedication throughout one of the most important financial decisions of your life, call us at 305.439.8311.
Sources:
https://stuccco.com/blog/home-staging-tips
https://fernweheditions.com/blogs/scent-stories/best-candle-scents-for-selling-a-home#
https://www.thezebra.com/resources/research/home-staging-statistics/#
https://www.thezebra.com/resources/research/home-staging-statistics/
https://miamisignaturehomes.com/2022-luxury-home-staging-trends/
