After having helped thousands of people in the DMV area sell their homes and speaking with real estate agents across the country, I can definitely say that one of the top questions sellers in any market have is how to get the most money for their home. Sellers often wonder what the pricing strategy should be or what improvements/repairs they need to make. While these are definitely important questions, they are only part of the bigger strategy, and that strategy works best when you have a top real estate agent directing it.
Don’t Settle for the 3 P’s. Most real estate agents use the strategy known as the 3 P’s:
1-Put a Sign in the Ground
2-Put it in the MLS
3-Pray
Too many times we have been called after a homeowner hired a real estate agent that did not have a winning strategy. While we are able to get homeowners great results, even if they have tried one or two real estate agents before us, it is always disappointing to see people waste time and lose money by not hiring a top real estate agent.
The 7 P’s That Will Get Your Home Sold for the Most
After years of experience selling thousands of homes and helping agents across the country, I have seen the best result happen for sellers when they pick a real estate agent that knows and implements the following strategies.
1. Product
The best home selling strategy starts with knowing the product. You must understand what you are selling and its relationship to the entire market. The most important questions are: location, type of home, size, feature, and age. You cannot change what you are selling, but you must understand what it is so you can effectively price and market it.
2. Price
Overpriced homes for the most part will not sell. High prices prevent buyers from falling in love with a home. They judge it before they see it, that is if they even see it at all. At best, an overpriced home compels a buyer to ask, “How much can I get off the price?” At worse they simply do not consider it. Correctly priced homes create a fear of loss in buyers. They wonder about what they need to do in to make sure they do not lose out.
There are sometimes cases where a unique or rare home does not have recently comparable sales, and sometimes in these cases there is an argument to set a high price for anchoring purposes, but this is definitely the exception to the rule. There is usually more danger in overpricing a home as more often than not this will lead to more time and the market and price drops below where it would have sold if priced correctly from the beginning. If a home is priced at or even slightly below market price more often than not, it will attract the most buyers and potentially get multiple offers to drive up the price.
3. Packaging and Presentation
Homes that show best sell best. It is hard for buyers to see around faults so it is best to make sure the home is in top shape. This means getting repairs done, making sure the exterior looks great, getting rid of clutter on the inside and doing everything to make it look move-in ready. We provide our sellers with consultations from stagers to make sure they are getting the best advice. If the owner is going to live there we make sure they do not have too much furniture. If the home is vacant we recommend staging. The easier it is for a buyer to imagine living in the home, the better the chances of getting the maximum sales price.
4. Positioning
If a home is priced right and in top shape the next step is to make sure the positioning strategy makes sense. Ask yourself, “Who is the most likely buyer for this home?” Is a first time home buyer? A move up buyer? An empty nester? The answer to this question will dictate how you market the home.
5. Promotion
How are you going to showcase the home to the most potential buyers in the best possible way? Since most homebuyers find their home online first you need to make sure your home will be found online and that buyers can easily see it once they do find it. Top-notch professional photos are a must. Virtual tours are also important. The right people need to see the home online and through social media. Other marketing channels can be important as well. Targeted direct mail can make a big impact if done correctly. Print is nowhere near as relevant as it use to be, but on some occasions and for certain types of homes it can still have importance. The same can be said for events. Overall the goal is for the most potential buyers to see your home and for it to look its best when they do.
6. People
The first five points addressed marketing processes. The next two address the logistics of the selling process. From the start of selling a home to getting it under contract to getting to the closing table it takes a lot of different skills. Some people can do it all, but most cannot. Even those that can do every part of the process can get overwhelmed. To really ensure you get the best results, having a team of specialists ensures that you will get the best possible result. It is simply hard to beat a team of people each committed to getting the best possible results.
7. Processes
Along with having great people to sell a home comes the importance of having proven processes. This simply only comes from experience and seeing what works over and over again, and what does not. When a team has sold hundreds or even thousands of homes they climb higher and faster on the learning curve. An agent that sells 24 homes a year for two decades will have less experience than a team that sells 500 homes in a year.
Getting the Best Possible Price for Your Home
Make sure the first five P’s that are marketing driven are done correctly. The best way to do that is to hire an expert that has done it more than anyone else. In order to have this kind of success the person you hire needs to have the best people and proven processes. Our team has sold thousands of homes and is consistently ranked by Real Trends in the Wall Street Journal as one of the top selling teams in the nation. If you want to find out how we can get you the best possible price for you home contact us at 703-609-5183 or [email protected]
