Is Your Home Truly Ready to Sell?
This is the question of the day in the current market, because things have drastically flipped since mid-August, and that's a short amount of time when it comes to real estate. I still remember the homes I listed in August and going through the opening weekend without an offer; I was surprised. I'm in my 4th year in real estate and this was new territory for me. A standard family home listed at a price we felt was competitive didn't have multiple offers, let alone one offer; yeah this was a change that seemed to hit quick.

And since that time in August I've learned a lot, which is a good thing, because it's helping me grow as an agent. And one thing I've learned is that regardless of the market, you always have to be prepared for a picky buyer or all buyers to be picky. I have actually been told by clients in the last couple months, "we are going to keep being picky." This is a statement we didn't really hear for years because people shopping didn't have the chance to be picky, but now they do. And honestly that's a good thing for a balanced market, which we need here in Northeast WI.

And to prepare for a picky buyer, or any buyer, you need to be ready for that first weekend because it is critical. The first few days that your home is on the market is critical, and we have to make sure we make a strong first impression for anyone walking through. If we don't we significantly increase our chances of doing price reductions because if we don't sell in that first weekend, the house is psycologically going to have a stigma to potential buyers (they will think, "what's wrong with it?"). Homes get the most views on search engines in the first few days, and it's when the most people will view it online, so we have to be prepared.

Price is still the key determining factor on if people will tour your home and make an offer, so no matter what we have to get price right. That is the number 1 most important factor. But as part of "Price" is the condition of the home, and sadly this goes beyond structural issues these days.

More and more I am hearing buyers talk about not liking paint, flooring, carpet, counters, finishes. These are all relatively cheap fixes in the grand scheme of things but buyers are viewing updates/fixes to that as "work" and then not making offers. So we have to really lock in and look at all of these when determining a price for the home and this means I may be a bit brutally honest when I walk through your home. I don't mean it personally, it's my job and I have to be honest with you about how a buyer is going to view the home. Less than 6 months ago it simply had to meet the specs a buyer wanted, now it needs to check so many more boxes.

So if you are considering selling in the next 6-12 months, or sooner, I highly recommend starting that conversation now and having me walk through the house. I won't pressure you to sell, but I will share insights into what I have seen the market and help you prep your home for selling so you are ready when the dream home hits the market randomly.