What’s the Best Way to Prep Your Home for a Successful Spring Sale?

If you’re considering listing your home in spring, here are four steps to make sure it sells quickly and for top dollar.

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When it comes to real estate, spring starts in January. You might already know spring is the hottest season in terms of home sales. Home buyers come out in big numbers with a lot of pent-up demand from the long winter months.

The numbers actually bear this out — homes sold in the spring sell 15 days faster and for about 2% more money than the average listing. However, in order to prepare your home for sale, you have to start preparing now for the spring market. Today, I want to show you four easy steps on how to prepare your home for the spring rush.

The first step is pricing. Pricing your home correctly is critical in getting the maximum amount of money in the shortest period of time. Homes that sell quickly tend to be priced properly and generate multiple offer situations.

The second step is deciding the ideal time to list. The peak spring rush is March through May. This is a very broad time frame, but homes are viewed five times more on the first day they hit the market than seven days later, so it’s important to get your home on the market on the exact right date so it can have the most impact.

To prepare your home for sale, you have to start preparing now for the spring market.

Third, you'll want to maximize curb appeal. The reason why is simple: 63% of home buyers that liked your home online will do a drive-by. You want to make sure you make a solid first impression by cleaning up the lawn from the long winter, painting the outside, refreshing the landscaping, cleaning the windows, and possibly replacing the roof.

Finally, you want clean up the inside of your home. We encourage people to rent a storage unit and put all non-essential items in that unit. You want to declutter as much as possible because buyers will typically decide within 30 seconds if they like your home or not.

By following these simple steps, you’ll be taking full advantage of the spring real estate market. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you!

What Opportunities Lie Ahead in Our Winter Market?

Today I want to talk about why the winter market represents a golden opportunity for home sellers.

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report
Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale

If you’re considering selling your home in this winter market, I have good news for you—winter represents an incredible opportunity. Why? There are a few reasons.

First, home prices have reached record highs over the past few months. In fact, they’re higher now than they were during the peak of 2006. In spite of the growth we’ve seen in our current market, we’re not experiencing a bubble like we saw 10 years ago, either. Instead, today’s high prices are primarily driven by a lack of supply.  

Second, we’re seeing a period of low but rising mortgage rates. For example, the average 30-year mortgage rate has been steadily increasing from its low of 3.375% last January to where it stands now at 4%. By historical standards, that’s still a very low rate. When you combine this with the possibility of interest rates rising even further in the future, it’s clear why so many home buyers are eager to take advantage of the current situation.

Home prices are high, and many buyers are re-entering the market.

Third, we’ve made it to the end of the election cycle, which means that many people who were sitting on the sidelines because of the election and its uncertainty are now re-entering the market and buying homes. This will keep demand healthy in the upcoming months.

Even though it’s only January, the spring selling season is definitely approaching. Spring is the hottest season for real estate in the Brainerd Lakes area, so you have to start moving now in order to take advantage of it.

Coming up with an accurate price is critical in getting your house sold for top dollar in the shortest period of time, so if you’re interested in selling, we’d love to sit down with you and share our marketing strategy. Just give us a call and we’d be happy to help!