To sell your home for the highest and best price, you must see your home from the buyer’s eyes. So what are buyers seeing?
Before the Internet, buyers would drive neighborhoods to look at homes. They would first evaluate homes by the community and curb appeal. The advertising would only provide the most positive information, leaving out anything that could be viewed as negative.
That has all changed. Today’s buyers can access almost every home, and every detail, from their computer or phone. However no buyer wants to see hundreds of homes. Therefore they narrow their search, eliminating most homes, through their web search criteria.
Therefore it is critical, when selling your home, to stand out in those search criteria. You may have the most amazing home on the market, but no one will know about it if you are eliminated by the search criteria.
According to Realtor.com, here is what buyers are using to eliminate homes:
- Price. 90% of buyers use this as their top criteria. If you price outside their parameters, they will never see you home.
- Number of bedrooms. If you have a 3 bedroom home in a predominantly 4-bedroom area, consider finishing a room in the basement. This will at least get them to look at your home. If the 4th bedroom is only for a guest room or den, the basement may be just fine for the buyer.
- Number of bathrooms. At homes over $200,000, buyers expect at least 2 ½ baths. Over $400,000, and they expect 3 ½ baths. For your best value, if may be worth the investment to add a bath.
- Square footage of home. There is more to a home than price per square foot, but buyers are still using it in their search criteria. Check the county records on your square footage, be sure to check the information. They do make mistakes. Also, they may have to make sure the records are correct. Has there been a room addition or finished basement space that was not recorded? Do not cut yourself short on square footage.