Rocklin Home Sales: 5 Tips To Sell Your Home FAST!
Rocklin Home Sales: Days To Sell Increases over 114%
Over the last 12 months, the time it takes to sell a home in Rocklin has increased exponentially. This is how the Rocklin real estate market looks right now:
Demand has waned as is indicated by sales being down just under 10% over last year, the total amount of homes for sale has increased 150% AND the average sales price has declined 6.44% over the last 2 months.
These stats mean that the competition in Rocklin home sales is getting tougher and home sellers must take the necessary steps to differentiate their home from the competition to get the best price possible.
With increased competition comes increased scrutiny by home buyers. Home buyers know there are more homes on the market now than last year and will pick apart every home they see then buy the home they pick apart the least.
In a market that we seem to be entering into, it’s imperative to get off to a good start on day 1 of market time.
Below are my top 5 tips to getting your home sold FAST!
What’s Your Home Worth? Click Here for my free report covering every subdivision in West Rocklin. Updated monthly.
5. Landscaping
No matter what kind of landscaping you have, lawn or water conserving/low maintenance, it’s got to be in top shape. Clean out all weeds, dead plants and give it a good going over. Plant flowers or new shrubbery where needed. Give buyers a reason to get out of their car by making a great first impression. If you have a lawn in front, trim it up and make it green. Fill in the bald spots with sod or prepare with topsoil and seed.
However you handle it, make your landscaping shine.
4. Home Repairs
The rumors are true! Homes that have been well maintained inside and out sell fast/first provided they are price correctly. Make sure everything the buyer could touch has been inspected and repaired or replaced if needed.
I once had a buyer open a bedroom door and the doorknob fell off in her hand. While the rest of the home seemed ok, that was enough to put the seed of doubt in her head and we were off to the next home.
Little things matter so go through your home with a fine tooth comb and make sure what needs fixing gets fixed.
I recommend getting a home inspection to aid in getting your home ready to sell. It is an invaluable to have a third party inspect your home so you know upfront what needs to be done to get the top of the market price for your home.
3. An Organized Presentation
A well organized presentation works wonders to get a home sold quickly.
Utilize the garage to store personal items and create a spacious feeling throughout the house. Eliminate clutter, kids toys and make the house look like no one lives there. Buyers will overlook some things but in a market like we’re entering into, it’s best not to risk creating anything other than awesome first impression.
Take personal pictures off shelves, collectibles should be stored away and dust everything. Organized kitchen counters, bookshelves, office spaces, kids rooms…you name it. The more organized every room in the house looks the better.
2. Clean, Clean and Then Clean Some More
A clean, well organized home sells. I recommend, as the job can get a bit much, hiring a house cleaner to come in and handle the big stuff. Floors, walls, ceilings and bathrooms can be handled quickly by a professional while you’re out doing other things.
Smells: The house has got to smell good but not overpowering. Matching the scent throughout the house is good advice to not create an irritation with prospective buyers. Individually, most scents smell great but when combined, it could create a nasty combo.
And my number 1. tip to sell your home quickly…
1. Select A Price That Beats The Competition, Don’t Overprice
No matter how nice your home is or what you’ve done to get ready to sell, unless it’s a one of a kind property, it won’t sell without proper pricing especially now. In the past, the Rocklin real estate market has been very forgiving of homes that were priced a touch high. Those times never last very long and if you happen to catch such a market, you’ve gotten very fortunate indeed.
The first half of last year was one of those markets. This year the market has shifted again, it actually started in July of 2013, and it is not as forgiving. If you’re priced higher than the competition, your home will most likely sit on the market for an extended period of time. It will not sell quickly.
Here’s how to find the best price point for your home:
1) Have your Realtor pull all of the homes that are currently for sale, in pending sale and have sold over the last 90 to 120 days that are most like your home in bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, amenities and location from the MLS.
2) You’ll need about 4 to 6 homes that have sold so select a radius around your home where those “comparable sales” exist. Matching the subdivision and year built will make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. Most appraisers pull homes that have sold inside a 1 mile radius but the closer the better.
3) What you’ll see is the pending sale and sold homes will have prices less than the homes currently for sale. This is most always the case. For example, as of this writing the active homes for sale in the 95765 averaged a listing price of $439,600, the pending sale homes are priced at $404,000 and the sold prices are $398,000 for a home just under 2300 square feet.
4) Analyze the spread between what price homes like yours are currently being marketed for and where the homes that have sold are priced. Pay particular attention to model matches to your home that are available or have sold.
Now that you have this valuable information, you must know what direction the real estate market is trending, are prices going up or are they going down over the last 90 to 120 days. An easy way to get a feel for this is to pull as many of the active, pending sale and sold homes in the zip code as is possible. If you’re in a declining market, the pending sale prices will be lower than the sold prices. If the pending sale prices are higher than the sold prices then it can be said that the market is appreciating.
The difference between the pending sale prices and the sold prices are a good indication of what direction the market is going.
A word of caution: Please don’t take anyone’s advice about the direction of the market without supporting documentation. It doesn’t matter who you’re talking to about the market. Please always insist on supporting documentation as to the direction of the market at any given time.
So to get the right price, the following rules of thumb apply:
1) If the pending sale prices are higher than the sold prices, price your home slightly above the pending sale average but below the average of homes that are currently for sale. This will help give buyers the impression that your home is a value compared to homes like it currently for sale.
2) If the pending sale prices are lower than the sold prices, price your home at or slightly below the homes that are in pending sale.
No matter what, to sell quickly, you’ve got to be priced below the level of the homes similar to your that are currently for sale. My free report has tons of information to help make your selling experience to be as profitable as possible. Click here for a for your free copy.
Whether buying or selling, I can help you get the best deal possible.
