Selling Your Home This Fall? What Can Make Or Break Your Sale

Selling This Fall? Four Things That Can Make Or Break Your Sale

 

 

Fall can be a very good time to sell a home. But selling in October or November isn’t quite the same as putting a home on the market during the busy spring season.

The buyer pool often gets smaller as the year winds down. At the same time, buyers who are still actively house hunting may have more homes competing for their attention. That makes getting the details right from the beginning especially important.

If you’re planning to sell this fall, here are four things that deserve your attention.

 

1. Don’t Make Buyers Question The Price

 

 

Buyers don’t know what you paid for your home, how much you’ve invested in it or what number you hope to walk away with.

They know what else they can buy for the same amount of money.

That comparison matters.

Price too aggressively and buyers may not even schedule a showing. They can simply move on to the next listing on their screen.

And starting high with the idea that you can always reduce the price later can backfire. The first days on the market are when a new listing typically gets its greatest burst of attention. You don’t want to spend those days testing a price buyers aren’t willing to pay.

Pricing should be based on current competition, recent sales and what buyers are actually responding to in your market — not on leaving room to negotiate or seeing whether someone will pay more.

 

2. Give Buyers Fewer Reasons To Say “No”

 

 

When buyers have choices, little things become bigger things.

Peeling paint at the front door. Overgrown landscaping. A room that feels dark and crowded. A dripping faucet. Worn carpet. Too much furniture. Photos that make the home look smaller than it actually is.

None of these necessarily requires a major renovation. But together they can influence how buyers perceive the home and its value.

Before the listing goes live, look at the property through a buyer’s eyes. Take care of obvious repairs, clean up the exterior, declutter, improve lighting where necessary and make sure the home is ready to be photographed at its best.

You’re not trying to make the house perfect. You’re trying to keep easily corrected distractions from becoming reasons a buyer chooses another home.

 

3. Decide Where You’re Willing To “Bend” Before An Offer Arrives

 

 

The highest offer isn’t always the offer with the best terms and the best terms aren’t always about price.

A buyer may ask for help with closing costs. Another may want a repair addressed. Someone else may need a particular closing date or ask for an appliance to remain.

That doesn’t mean automatically agreeing to every request. It means knowing ahead of time where you have flexibility.

When an offer comes in, look at the entire package. Price, financing, contingencies, closing costs, due diligence terms and timing can all affect what an offer is actually worth to you.

Negotiating strategically is very different from giving something away simply to make a deal.

 

4. Listen To What The Market Is Telling You

 

 

Once your home is listed, the market starts giving you information.

Lots of online activity but hardly any showing requests can be a warning sign.

Plenty of showings but no offers is another.

Repeated comments about condition, presentation or price shouldn’t automatically be dismissed as buyers “just being picky.”

One comment is an opinion. The same comment coming from several different buyers is information worth paying attention to.

That doesn’t mean making a knee-jerk price reduction after a few days. It does mean evaluating the response to the listing and being willing to change course when the evidence says something isn’t working.

 

Buyers Don’t Stop Moving Just Because It’s Fall

 

 

People buy homes in the fall for all sorts of reasons. Jobs change. Leases end. Families grow. Relationships change. Relocations happen. Some buyers simply didn’t find the right home earlier in the year.

The season doesn’t eliminate buyers. It changes the competition for their attention.

If you’re thinking about selling before the end of the year, the goal isn’t simply to put your home on the market and hope the right buyer comes along. It’s to position the home so that when that buyer does come along, your property is one they don’t want to pass up.

 

 

Thinking About Selling Your Greater Charlotte Home This Fall?

 

Selling a home in the fall requires more than simply putting it on the market and waiting for a buyer. Pricing, presentation, negotiation and knowing how to respond once buyers start reacting to your home can all influence the outcome.

If you’re considering selling your Greater Charlotte home this fall, contact me. I can help you evaluate your home, evaluate the competition you’ll be facing and the steps you can take before listing to put yourself in the strongest possible position when your home comes on the market.