According to Property Index of Trulia, home prices have started to flatten or decline in Silicon Valley and other markets after seeing double digit increases in 2013. So, if you are selling your own home and want to get the highest price, then these 3 recommendations will help you:
1) Competition: Are you competing with brand new homes? Is your home in a move-in condition? If the answer is no, then you might want to consider quick remodeling projects to increase your odds of competing with these home. Small Kitchen and Bathroom remodels can add a lot of visual appeal and value to your home while creating a much stronger 1st impression.
2) Age: How old is your home? If you are in an area where developers are building tons of new homes while offering purchase incentives; then you might want to consider seller financing as an option. Seller financing will increase your pool of potential buyers to your home to include those who can not afford the down payment.
3) Condition: What kind of 1st impression is your home creating? Are bathrooms remodeled? Are kitchen appliances from 70s? This might give you another pause about kitchen and bathroom remodels to compete better on the market. One option might be to use the equity of your home to finance these remodels. But before you venture into a major remodeling projects, you should find you home’s worth. This should give you a good approximation of where you should be priced compared to similar homes. You can use sites like Zillow and Tulia to get an approximation for your home’s worth. But be prepared if these sites provide values that could differ as much as 200,000 which is not helpful when attempting to price your own home.
So it might be a wise move to partner with a Realtor to develop a Competitive Market Analysis to determine the most strategic pricing for your home that adjusts for Condition, Age and Recent Sales.
Contact us if you have questions about these recommendations.
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