Prepare Your Home
Seller's Guide
Selling a home is more than placing an ad and putting a sign in the yard.
I will be here to guide you through the process and help you every step of the way for a successful sale.
Setting the asking price is one of the most important factors when selling your home. I will help you determine the value in today's market and give you an idea of what your home will sell for. The value of your home will depend on its condition, its location, the time of year and the competition in the area. I will conduct a free, no-obligation Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) of your home, showing you what similar homes in your area have recently sold for as well as those currently on the market, and how long the homes were for sale.
Prepare Your Home
First impressions are so important to attract the most interest. I can make recommendations from enhancing the "curb appeal" of your home to decorating, cleaning, making repairs or complete restaging to give your home a competitive edge, helping it sell quickly while getting the most for it. For my free comprehensive checklist on preparing your home for sale, click here.
Marketing Your Home
More than 94 percent of home buyers start their search on the internet. When you list with Shorewest, I will expose your home to more buyers than any other real estate company, increasing your chances for selling quickly and at the best price.
Congratulations, today you will become a homeowner! Remember, our full service continues right through the closing day. At the closing, you will settle all the financial details, the title to your new home will be conveyed and you will receive the keys to your new home.
While data from realtor.com shows the number of listings coming to market (known in the industry as new listings) has grown since the start of the year, housing supply is still firmly in sellers’ market territory. This means there are still more buyers in the market than there are homes available. That puts you in the driver’s seat.
Purchasers are eagerly waiting for your house, so if you work with a real estate
professional to price it correctly, it could sell quickly and get multiple strong offers this season. Just know that listing sooner rather than later can help your house stand out before more sellers add their homes to the market.
Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at First American, reports:
“. . . homeowners in Q4 2021 had an average of $307,000 in equity – a
historic high.”
That much equity can open doors for you to make a move. If you’ve been holding off on selling because you’re worried about how rising prices will impact your next home search, rest assured your equity can help fuel your move. It may be just what you need to cover a large portion (if not all) of the down payment on your next home.
While it’s true the 30-year fixed mortgage rate from Freddie Mac has climbed over two percentage points this year, current rates are still below what they’ve been in past decades. Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American, explains:
“Rising mortgage rates impact affordability, but historical context is important. An average 30-year, fixed mortgage rate of 5.5 percent is still well below the historical average of nearly 8 percent.”
That means you still have an opportunity to lock in a rate that’s comparatively lower than decades past. Work with a trusted advisor to kickstart the process so you can make your next purchase today.
Home prices have been skyrocketing in recent years, thanks to the imbalance of supply and demand. And as long as that imbalance continues, so will the rise in home values.
What does that mean for you? If you’re selling so you can move into the home of your dreams or downsize into something that better suits your current needs, you have an opportunity to get ahead of the curve by leveraging your growing equity and purchasing your next home before prices appreciate further.
And, once you make your purchase, you can find peace of mind in knowing any further home price appreciation is growing the value of your new investment.
"There is an ongoing housing shortage, and properly listed homes are still selling swiftly – generally seeing a contract signed within a month."
"The process of getting a home ready for sale traditionally involved cleaning, repairing any items needing maintenance, decluttering, and even staging."
"This imbalance between an insufficient number of owners looking to sell relative to buyers searching for a home has led to the record appreciation of the past 12 months."
"Strong house price appreciation typically encourages more existing homeowners to move. As homeowners gain equity in their homes."
When selling anything, you always hope for strong demand for the item coupled with limited supply. In essence, when demand is high and supply is low, prices naturally rise. That’s exactly what’s happening in the housing market today.
When there’s strong demand for an item and a limited supply of it available, the seller has maximum leverage. You might already realize this advantage enables you to sell at the best possible price, but it also means you’re in a better position to get the ideal contract terms to suit your needs. That’s because there’s a chance you’ll get offers from multiple buyers who are willing to compete for your house. They’ll do everything they can to make their offer stand out. This could mean you’ll see things like waived contingencies, offers over asking price, earnest money deposits, and more. As the offers come in, work with your agent to look closely at each one before you decide which works best for you.
You may be thinking of selling because you’ve heard your home’s value has increased. But will that trend continue? Or will prices fall since mortgage rates have risen?
While some people may worry the rise in mortgage rates this year will impact demand so much that home prices will depreciate, experts say otherwise. Doug Duncan, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Fannie Mae, notes:
According to the U.S. Home Price Insights Report from CoreLogic, home values increased by an average of 15% in 2021. That dramatic rise in home prices is a direct result of more buyers in the market (demand) than houses navailable for sale (supply). When demand is high and supply is low like it is right now, prices naturally rise.
The graph below shows 2022 home price forecasts from several industry experts. The average of these projections indicates an expected 8.9% home price appreciation in 2022. While this isn’t quite the dramatic 15% the market experienced last year, it shows experts are calling for ongoing appreciation. Basically, experts are all indicating home values will continue to climb, just at a more moderate pace.
Equity can be a real game-changer if you’re planning to make a move. According to the latest data from CoreLogic, the average homeowner gained $55,300 in equity over the past year, a number that grew substantially as home values appreciated.
For a homeowner, your equity is the current value of your home minus what you owe on the loan. Today, there aren’t enough homes on the market to meet buyer demand, so bidding wars and multiple offers are driving home values up, giving current homeowners a significant equity boost. The graph below uses the most recent projections from the Home Price Expectation Survey (HPES) by Pulsenomics to show how your household wealth is expected to continue building as home values rise.
If you’re a homeowner, equity not only builds your wealth, it also opens doors for you to achieve your financial goals. It works like this: when you sell your house, the equity you built up comes back to you in the sale. You can use those proceeds to fuel your next move, especially if you’ve decided your needs have changed and you’re looking for something new.
With 18 years experience in marketing, my background, along with numerous personal relocations, I am positioned to give both my buyers and sellers the highest quality service as well as the tools to achieve their needs as a dedicated Southeastern Wisconsin real estate agent. Contact me today.