Home sellers dream of an easy, stress-free sale that involves nothing more than listing, accepting an offer, and then closing. During the past couple of years, things have been almost that easy for sellers because inventory has been extremely low and buyer demand has been very high. But the real estate market is beginning to change, chiefly due to increasing inventory and rising interest rates. So selling your house this spring is going to take a little more effort and some careful preparation in order to get the best price and sell quickly. Find out below the 5 things to do right now if you want to sell your house this spring in Kauai.
1. Declutter and Deep Clean
No matter the season or the market, the basics remain the same. So to sell your house this spring in Kauai, you should begin with never-changing first essentials – decluttering and deep cleaning.
“If curb appeal is one of the first things to turn people off to your home, clutter is a close second. Decluttering has many advantages when selling your home. It makes your home look bigger, shows off your storage, and makes your home show better online. Whether we like it or not, most buyers have an emotional reaction that determines whether they fall in love with your home.”
Keep in mind, too, that when decluttering, your goal is to create a blank palette effect by removing all highly personal items and decorations. You want potential buyers to be able to envision your house as their home, being able to imagine all their belongings in place and them living there.
After you thoroughly declutter, then it’s time to deep clean – everything. “Plan on spending a couple of weekends doing a deep cleaning. Clean your windows, floors, cabinets, showers, etc. If you don’t have time, consider hiring a house cleaning service.”
2. Make Necessary Repairs/Upgrades
Next, in order to compete in the increasingly competitive house market and sell your house this spring, you will need to make all the necessary repairs and upgrades. According to industry pros, “[y]ou don’t want to put your home on the market when there are things obviously wrong with it, so make a list of the repairs you need to address and start working on them as soon as you can.”
But you also shouldn’t waste money on needless upgrades that won’t help you sell your house and/or won’t yield a good return on the investment. “If you’re going to spend money on costly upgrades, make sure that the changes you make have a high return on investment. It doesn’t make sense to install new granite countertops, for example, if you only stand to break even or lose money on them.” In addition, the upgrades that will help you sell vary from local market to local market.
Your best bet, then, before dumping a lot of cash into upgrades, is to consult a [martket_city] agent who knows what will work in your market. To find out more about this, just call 808-634-4518.
3. Work on Curb Appeal
As we mentioned early on, the thing that can turn buyers off quicker than anything is poor curb appeal. So you will absolutely have to start working on curb appeal now to sell your house this spring. And it doesn’t have to cost a lot either.
“The first impression prospective buyers will have of your home is from the street. Therefore, it’s important that your curb appeal and landscaping [are] immaculate. Trimming the bushes, edging, and mowing the lawn are all low-cost things that will help improve the curb appeal. If your landscaping has old bark or low-maintenance gravel, get some bark or gravel to freshen things up. You can have these delivered from your local landscape supply company for less than $100.”
4. Get Professional-Quality Listing Photos
At this point, it’s time to think about listing photos to sell your house. Yes, you will need to take photos in the spring, but buyers appreciate knowing how great your house looks in all seasons, so do it now.
In our digital age when most buyers begin their home search online, top-notch listing photos are an absolute must. That’s why we suggest using a professional. “A professional photographer, with a strong portfolio, knows how to make rooms appear bigger, brighter and more attractive. The same goes for your lawn and outdoor areas.”
Again, this is where you should defer to your agent and her professional network. In fact, “[s]ome real estate agents build professional photography and virtual online tours into their suite of services.”
5. Find a Good Kauai Agent
This brings us to what is probably the most important thing you should do right now if you want to sell your house this spring in Kauai. And that is to locate an experienced Kauai agent as soon as possible.
You can, of course, sell your house on your own, but you’ll miss out on the many benefits of working with an agent and you’ll likely wind up selling for less. “The advantage of hiring an agent . . . is getting help with the process from start to finish. A real estate agent can help you market your home to command a better offer, land on the best sale price, and navigate paperwork and contracts.”
For most home sellers, it pays (literally) to work with an experienced agent. So if you want to sell your house this spring in Kauai, contact us today at 808-634-4518.