Depending on where you live, selling a home this year might be more challenging than usual. You may be in a time crunch to sell your current home and liquidate that asset. You may be in a buyer’s market with plenty of competition. You may live in an area where open houses and broker events are not possible due to the pandemic. Agents and sellers alike are dealing with a host of issues that make closing deals more difficult. But there’s good news: Homes are being sold. The market is picking up, and getting a deal you can be happy about is possible. If you want to get your home sold for the best possible price in 2021, these three tactics will make your listing stand out among the rest.
1. Make Your Home Instagram-Ready.
Video tours and social media are selling homes right now. Many people are relocating across the country and are unable to view homes in person; Others are avoiding in-person meetings out of caution and prefer to do virtual tours. In fact, many agents are finding buyers through Facebook ads now that magazines are no longer the best way to show off a listing. What does that mean for you? Make sure that you and your agent understand this market and are catering your listing to it. Use vertical listing photos (which display best on mobile phones). Next, make each space as visually appealing for a social media audience as possible. Something as simple as a collage of black and white photos on the wall creates a more eye-catching background than a solid paint color. Plants play really well on social media, too—add a ficus, fig, or orchid to liven up the room with lots of green. As we all spend more time indoors, plants really make a space feel more alive—and they also give the implication that your home gets plenty of natural light.
2. Create a Home-School or Home-Office Area.
Almost every family in America needs a home office right now—whether for the parents, the kids, or both. If you don’t have a spare room, find a spare nook—any space in your home that can be converted for this purpose is worth it. Creating this high-value feature that nearly every buyer needs will make your listing stand out from the rest. Buyers will love seeing there’s a dedicated home office area ready to go—both for their own practical use and (depending on the set-up) for home office tax-deduction purposes.
3. Don’t Jack Up the Price.
The majority of U.S. is experiencing a seller’s market, but that doesn’t mean you should overprice your home. It’s a common mistake to set the number high and assume someone will be willing to hit it. Here’s why: The buyer who wants the home the most will pay the most, so a smart seller lets the buyers create the market. Set a fair price that will create interest and bring in the most buyers. Then, buyers will bid against one another and drive the price up on their own. Don’t forget—interest rates are at rock-bottom right now, so many sellers will be able to go a little higher on their bid as a result.