Selling a house comes with its own challenges and obstacles, but you might find yourself in a new position if you are selling in a seller’s market.
You should count yourself lucky if you are selling your home in a seller’s market and you will without a doubt have a smoother selling journey than you expected.
Not only will the days on the market be lower, but you might even receive more than one offer and this could drive up the sales price.
It is usually an excellent idea to take advantage of this type of market because the demand drives the competition. The more buyers there are for your home, the higher the odds are that you will make money.
In a seller’s market, the number of homes to choose from are few and far between, especially if the seller is looking for a ‘unique’ home. If there is not much to choose from, the nicest homes will always attract the most attention, but even if there are less attractive homes on the market, they will be selling quite quickly as well.
How to attract multiple offers in a seller’s market
Many people think that selling a home is as easy as sticking a ‘For Sale’ sign in the front yard and waiting for people to pitch up.
Ask any real estate agent who’s been around for a few years and they’ll tell you that there’s a lot more work that has to go into the sale of a home than just “post and pray” it sells.
It requires preparation, research, and strategy. You are looking for the best buyer with the best price, which means that you need to do as much as possible in order to reel them in.
Here is an excellent strategy that has been proven to deliver successful results:
- Prepare the home for sale: Apart from home staging, this also involves cleaning the home from top to bottom, repairing items, and replacing old, outdated furnishings. Not necessarily something one has to take for granted!
- Go on the market on a Friday: Friday is a good day to list in real estate. Go live on a Thursday evening so that buyers can see it first thing Friday morning.
- Limit house showings: Don’t allow viewings of the home during all hours of the day. Allowing buyers to view with others might actually serve for some healthy competition.
- Lower the selling price: If you lower the price slightly, it will attract more buyers; it might not be necessary, but it works.
Review seller’s market offers
As soon as you have received offers, start making notes on each offer of the seller so that you know important information such as the deposit amount, whether the offer is cash or financed, certain contingencies, and of course, any unusual requests or allowances.
Some buyers might try to manipulate the seller by sending photos or writing letters. They might even share personal stories about their families. Don’t fall into this trap. Remember, as a home seller, that it is a business transaction and you can’t complete a successful transaction based on emotions.
After you have had a chance to digest the information that you have collected, it is time to choose.
You can do one of the following: accept the offer you like best, issue a counteroffer, ask all buyers to resubmit highest or best offers, or adjust the selling price and accept more offers.
Usually, sellers find the right offer amongst multiple offers. It is not always the highest offer that wins, but more than likely the one that is preapproved. This is seen as sufficient criteria for the seller as the buyer has proof that there is some form of safe financing to allow the sale to occur.
