Properly preparing and staging your home before you list can help you sell faster and for more money. So today we’ll be discussing some key ways to get your home ready for the market. But before we cover this important topic, it is time for an update on our local market.
Let’s start this update off by examining the current absorption rate. As a reminder, the absorption rate refers to how quickly homes are selling in our area. When the absorption rate is at or below five months, sellers have the advantage, while any absorption rate above six months constitutes a buyer’s market.
Of course, different price points will see different absorption rates even within the same area. For our local market, there’s less than three months’ worth of homes in price points below $400,000. In price points above that mark, though, the level of supply ranges from five to 10-plus months of inventory.
Meanwhile, the cost to rent a home is going up, up, up. Renters and potential buyers alike know that prices are not set to decrease in our area for the next couple of years. Beyond that, interest rates are set to increase. In fact, projections show that they could reach 4.80% by the first quarter of 2019.
As a final note, it is a great time to get off the fence if you have been considering selling or investing in our area, as buyer activity throughout Louisville and Southern Indiana continues to be very strong.
Now let’s return to today’s main topic: staging. Whether it is time to sell or you simply want to tidy up your home, getting rid of clutter and maximizing your space is always a good idea. If heavy lifting isn’t your style, you can always hire someone to haul away larger junk items for you.
“Buyers want to envision themselves in your property, not feel as though they are invading.”
And you do not have to go it alone when staging, either. According to staging expert Amy Wagner of “Reflections of You by Amy,” listings that are not professionally staged will spend five to eight months on the market, while listings that are staged tend to go under contract within 30 days. In a hot market like we are seeing today, taking this extra step in ensuring your listing’s success is especially critical.
If you do opt to stage on your own, there are a few professional tips Amy says you should keep in mind. The first thing she recommends is to always remove all personal items.
A personal photo can be an emotional trigger that will push buyers away. Buyers want to envision themselves in your property, not feel as though they are invading.
Another great tip is to remember that “less is best” when it comes to decor. Keeping decor looking balanced and simple is ideal.
You can see an example of Amy’s work in the video above. She did an incredible job transforming what used to be my own home. Between Amy’s staging expertise and our team’s marketing techniques, it took just two days of being on the market for the property to receive multiple offers at full asking price. When the home closed, the sale ended up yielding the highest price that neighborhood had ever seen. It is easy to see what kind of impact staging can have on your home.
If you have any other questions, would like more information, or are thinking of buying or selling, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
