Selling your home in 2020
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Selling your home can be super intimidating… especially if this is your first time as a “buyer” or “seller.” You have to find an agent you can trust in a sea of agents… Find time in your busy life to patch walls and fix doors… Get your house cleaned and styled to make a great first impression… and then there’s the contracts and banks… 2020 is well on it’s way and by the new year we are going to learn everything there is to know about this scary world of real estate. Welcome to step 1 of “Selling your home in 2020!”
An introduction
Terminology and first impressions
The right time to sell your home
There has been much debate over when the right time to sell your home is. Spring? Autumn? The truth is it depends on your home. If you house has a pool and a large outdoor area, selling in the warmer months will highlight these features and make your house significantly more appealing to potential buyers.
During the winter months there are less houses on the market, but potentially a similar number of buyers, as serious buyers tend to spend up to six months searching for the perfect home. Capitalising on this lull with a good marketing strategy can help draw attention to your home without as much competition.
Finding the right agent
Do not underestimate the power of a good agent! You are about to hand over your most valuable asset, so you need an agent that you can trust and who has your best interests in mind. But with so many agents in Canberra, how will you know who is right for you?
Start by talking to them. You will be working closely with your agent throughout this process so it’s important that they can work with you and explain the process in a way you understand. Come prepared with a list of questions: what sales method they suggest, how they calculate a price guide, and how they plan to negotiate. You may love the first agent you meet, but it’s always important to talk to at least three to get an idea of who is out there.
Make sure your agent knows the area, research their sales history in your suburb and see how they market their properties. It’s not always about how many listings they have or how many ads they have in the paper. Some agents sell more apartments, and others work best with family homes: you need an agent who knows how to sell your home, so look at their history with similar properties. Remember to utilise Canberra’s small-town charm! Chances are you know someone who has sold their house recently, so ask about their agent and their experiences.
Preparing your home
Preparing your home for sale can be a very intimidating task but the reward is worth it in the end. The first step is doing some minor repairs; patch up holes in the wall and fix that broken door you’ve learnt to live with. Whether you go DIY or hire a professional, you have to get those pesky repairs finished, most buyers want to move into a ready-to-go home, not a fixer-upper.
Once you’ve found a good agent, they will tell you all the things you need to fix before you sell your home. In some cases, they might ask you to repaint or repair your floors. This can be a lot of work, but it can radically increase the value of your home.
Styling your home
When buying a new home first impressions count. You want potential buyers to walk in and fall in love with your house! A fresh layer of paint definitely helps, but property styling is the icing on the cake. Recent studies show that 80% of professionally styled homes sell on or above the asking price and are sold on an average of just 10 days (compared to 85 days for non-staged homes)!!
Property styling companies bring furniture and accessories into your home to create a welcoming environment that allows potential buyers to envision their life in the space. They can work with empty houses if you choose to move out, and they can declutter and style your home around your existing furniture if you are living in the house while it’s on the market.
It’s 2020 and we are living in a digital age. The majority of buyers find homes online before they start looking in person so how your house photographs is important. Professional stylists style your home in a way that not only looks good in person, but also online, so you can attract the highest number of buyers.
Different ways to sell your home; auction, private treaty, or tender
There are three main ways to sell your home, each one has its pros and cons.
A Private Treaty relies on buyers making offers based on your listed price. Together, you and your agent will work out a fair market price for your property, usually your listed price will be just above this. Once your agent has received an offer, negotiations begin. These can be a quick or quite long process, depending on the offer and the buyers, as well as your willingness to compromise. Private treaties are the most common practice for residential properties in Australia. After negotiations have led to an agreement, there is a cooling-off period before any contracts are signed. During this period, which lasts five business days in the ACT and NSW, the buyer has the option to back out of the purchase but doing so results in a fee of 0.25% of the purchase price.
An Auction is a one off bidding competition. Bids start at the reserve price, a price chosen by you as the minimum you are willing to sell your property. The benefit of an auction is the competition between bidders, which can lead to prices above the fair market value. If there are not enough people bidding at an auction, say, only one person, the agent will often cancel the auction to do a private treaty with the interested party. If the auction goes through, there is no cooling-off period and the buyer is bound to the purchase and contract. Any negotiations on the contract must be agreed upon before the auction begins.
The final option is Tender, during tender there is no reserve price set, interested partied can make blind offers for you to review at a set date. A tender process is less binding than the other options, buyers can make an offer on condition of different factors, such as building approval certificate. Once the set review date has arrived, you can go through the offers with your agent and choose one that is most appealing based on the offer and the conditions. You are also not obligated to accept any offer, if none of them seem suitable, your agent can start negotiations with perspective buyers.
