buying a home from a distance

Tips For Selling A Home In A Down Market With High Mortgage Interest Rates

2 December 2022

Jeffery Wright

As the residential real estate market cools off and interest rates rise, it becomes more of a challenge to sell your home. However, this doesn't stop job transfers, health issues, and other reasons homeowners need to sell.

If you need to sell your home when the market is slow, there are things you can do to stand above the other homes on the market and get it sold.

Here are some home sales assistance tips:

Tip: Your Home Must be Sparking Clean and in Excellent Repair

When the real estate market is booming, sellers have multiple offers to choose from. Buyers in this market can't be too picky and often have to remove inspection contingencies to get their offers accepted over others. 

In contrast, buyers can be as choosey as they want in a buyer's market. They always know there are other homes they can purchase and know you are aware of this same thing.

To encourage buyers to choose your property over other comparables, make sure yours sparkles, and everything is in excellent repair. A buyers market is not the time to skip the professional deep cleaning or replacing the defective HVAC system.

Tip: Paint the Interior and Exterior if Needed

If the paint on the exterior of your home doesn't look great, then choosy buyers will ignore your listing and tour others instead. Not only do you need to clean up the landscaping and plant flowers for a pop of color, but you also need to paint if your home hasn't been painted recently or is an offensive color.

Equally as important as exterior paint is a high-quality interior paint job. No, for most homes, you can't "get away" with not painting. Especially that pink room your child wanted or the dark green bathroom you painted with the free leftover paint you got free from a friend.

Painting is relatively inexpensive, and a nice interior and exterior paint job will ensure your home sticks above others and garners a higher price when you sell. A bad paint job or soiled walls will send qualified buyers elsewhere.

Tip: Listen to the Home Selling Advice of Your Real Estate Agent

The real estate agent you partner with to sell your home has your best interests at heart. They want your home to sell. They want it for you as their client, and they want it for themselves, so they earn a living.

As your listing agent gives your their professional home selling advice, the best thing you can do is listen to it. It's never personal. It's business. So, if your agent asks you to get rid of your grandmother's antique orange sofa for showings, listen and do so. Working together will sell your home in no time — even in a buyer's market with less-than-ideal mortgage interest rates.

For more information, contact a professional such as Ron Bailey Real Estate Agent.

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