Housing March Madness. Time to Sell?

While college basketball will dominate the March airwaves, it’s also a great time for you to dominate the idea of putting your home on the market this spring.

Ask any realtor and they will tell you with the warmer months just around the corner would-be home buyers come out in droves, homes attract more offers and you have a much greater chance to sell your home more quickly at or above asking price.

Timing

Timing is money and finding that perfect time to list is crucial in selling your home quickly and for top dollar! List too early and not enough buyers may be available or you may fetch lower offers. List too late and you could miss out on the home buying madness that ramps up in the spring through summer months.

Putting your home on the market in spring hits a sweet spot in the real estate market. With mortgage rates still at historical lows, potential home buyers are extremely motivated, many with a fresh tax refund as additional down payment funds. More often than not, they have been patiently watching the lack of homes coming to market. But now that spring is here and your home will soon be available, it’s like a breath of fresh air has been put back into the real estate market.

The Magic Month

Recent data from online real estate database Zillow indicates that homes listed in May tend to sell more quickly and for more money. Knowing this, work with your realtor to establish a realistic timeline to get your home priced right and sold quickly!

Also, be sure to check out Zillow’s new Best Time To Sell tool. This tool estimates how much money a seller can expect to make by adjusting the listing date.

3 Quick Tips to Sell Your Home

1. Price it right. There are many pricing strategies that you and your realtor can use when selling your home. Work together to find the right price based on your home’s location and other comparable (comps) homes coming to market or currently on the market. A good rule of thumb when pricing is that you don’t want to be the highest priced home in your neighborhood…shoot for the second or third; you just may attract more buyers.
2. Check out the competition. If there are other homes for sale in your neighborhood go check them out during open houses. It never hurts to get a good look at the competition. You may discover you need to stage your home better or make some upgrades in the kitchen and bathrooms. Knowing the condition and presentation of homes you are competing with will help you prepare your home.
3. Curb appeal. First impressions are everything! Sprucing up a few details in or around your home can be the difference in getting your home sold quickly at or above the listing price.

When my wife and I sold our Beaverton home three summers ago we did something smart that saved us a lot of time and money. We made a list of all the things we wanted to improve to the house…it was a LONG list! We prioritized them by what we felt would help sell the house, these included some “curb appeal” items. It was amazing to witness that with just a few minor and inexpensive updates how much you could set the look of your home apart from others for sale in the neighborhood.

When I say “curb appeal items” I’m talking about things such as: new house paint, washing the windows, planting a few new flowers, painting your front door so it “pops”, staining your deck and fence, pressure washing your driveway, and more. All little things that can make a HUGE impact!

For more curb appeal ideas, check out this article: Secrets to Great Curb Appeal from one of my favorite websites This Old House. These ideas will surely help make your home stand out from the rest!

Got a great story about getting your home ready to sell or care to share some of your curb appeal ideas? Please leave a comment below!

Posted by: Ryan Jones

About the author: Ryan has been in the credit union industry for 12 years and has been with Unitus Community Credit Union since 2007. He started his credit union career in California before finding his way to Oregon. In his day job Ryan oversees and manages digital strategy for Unitus including; website, social media, email, digital advertising, and more. However when the work whistle blows he is all about his family. Ryan and his wife moved to Oregon in 2006 from northern California and have two children.