Sales Myths to Ditch

Remember last year when all you had to do was whisper about putting a ‘For Sale’ sign in your yard and your home would already be sold? Ah, those were the days. (Well, maybe not for the buyer…) But really, the only way to describe the market was frenzied chaos of waived inspections and cash offers way above asking price. 

Today, the seller’s market hits a bit different. In order to still be competitive in a cooling market, here are a few common selling tactics that you might want to ditch. 

Pricing High

For the past two years, sellers could get away with pricing their listings aggressively and, odds were, they still got offers above even that asking price. Experts are now saying that might not be the best strategy. With inventory beginning to increase (along with mortgage rates), the buyers on the market are serious but can afford to be judicious. In order to not feel like you “missed the market”, you may want to price your home at pandemic level prices. This will alienate buyers and actually make it harder to sell your home. 

Selling As-Is

During a hot hot hot seller’s market, it’s easier to off load homes that might need a few upgrades or fixes. Gone are the days! Assuming your home will sell as-is is a much bigger risk in this late half of 2022. 

According to a survey done by Realtor.com, 67% of homeowners who sold in August negotiated with buyers who wanted repairs done. This is compared with 31% in the previous six to 12 months. If you want a quick sale with no hiccups, consider making fixes before you list. 

Staging 

As the real estate market shifts and changes, the number of days that a home is on the market also changes. During the height of the pandemic, the average time for a home on the market was barely two weeks. Now, we’re looking at an average of 50 days. This is still 18 days faster than pre-pandemic days but longer than the surge of 2021. In order to stay competitive in today’s market, don’t scrimp on staging. 

When buyers are able to be pickier about a property, then making said property look as desirable as possible is a necessity. Hiring staging companies might feel like an added expense but will pay off in the long run. In fact, studies show that staged homes sell 88% faster and at 20% higher prices than nonstaged homes.

Want to read more selling myths to ignore? Visit Realtor.com!