5 Easy Ways to Sell Your Home for A LOT More Money
Selling a home can sound daunting, real daunting. What do you need to do to get it ready to sell? How long will you have to keep it perfectly clean before getting a good offer? Will it be hard to get the price you want for it?
Not to fear, we've rounded up some simple tips to make sure your home will sell for for a lot more money, and the best part is, if you give yourself enough time, each of these steps are all very do-able and largely inexpensive.
1. Play up outdoor kitchen features in your listing.
When it comes time to put your home on the market, make sure you show off its best features and include them in the listing description to sell it for a higher price. In particular, flaunt any and all outdoor living areas. Research from Zillow shows that buyers paid as much as 3.1 percent more for a home with an outdoor TV than homes without them, and features like an outdoor kitchen, she-shed, bluestone patio, outdoor shower, and pizza oven can add to your sales price. Trending kitchen features can pay off too, with research showing that buyers will go for a higher price for soapstone countertops and a beverage center specifically.
2. Maximize curb appeal.
First impressions matter, and that certainly applies to curb appeal with real estate. Keep in mind what a potential buyer will see the first time they lay their eyes on your home from the street or in a photograph, and enlist a friend to help you look for imperfections like cracks in painting or an overgrown plant. Most of all, make sure you ask: Does the house exterior and yard feel inviting and look well-maintained?
Just as we style photographs for our magazine, you’ll want to “style” your house’s exterior before you have real estate photos taken. A realtor can help you evaluate exactly what to do based on what buyers in your area find appealing, but basic maintenance is always a good idea.
Remove dead plants, prune shrubs or trees, kill weeds, repair any broken fencing spots, and pull out the pressure washer to shine up your driveway, walkways, and siding. Right before the photographer comes, remove anything unpleasing to the eye, like trash cans or broken furniture, and add in some fresh color with flowers. A fresh coat of paint on the front door and a new welcome mat never hurt either!
3. Add in vintage touches. (Really!)
In addition to exterior curb appeal, sprucing up your home inside can pay off, too. Research from Zillow shows that buyers are more likely to save or share real estate listings that have certain features you can easily add to your home, no demo required. Houses with open shelving, for example, are saved 37 percent more than those without, so consider having some installed and styling it with books and collectible items. Speaking of styling, buyers are also more likely to save homes decorated with vintage touches and finishes (music to our ears!), so consider hitting up the local antique mall or even “shopping” your parents’ home and adding some new finds to your rooms.
4. Refresh walls with neutral paints.
Nothing refreshes a home like a fresh coat of paint, and it’s no surprise that buyers agree. Plus, painting is relatively affordable and makes all spaces look cleaner and more well-maintained. Neutral colors sell a home better since buyers can better envision their own furnishings in a space that’s not painted a vivid color, just as they can envision a space as their own better without personal photographs on walls and shelves.
Don’t necessarily go all in on white paint, though. Homes with living rooms, kitchens, and bedrooms painted dark grey garnered the highest selling prices, according to Zillow research that claims the hue is the “color of retreat” and creates a “feeling of security.”
5. List your home for sale in the spring.
Spring brings us colorful blooms and longer days, and it also brings us the best real estate market of the year. Data year after year has shown that homes sell for the highest amount when schools get out for summer break. Last year, according to nationwide data, the best two weeks to sell your home were the last two weeks of May, when homes listed sold for 1.6 percent more than at other times of year. That said, the exact golden time frame to list varies by area. A local real estate agent can give you guidance to help pinpoint best time to sell in your neighborhood.
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