Any advice/secrets to selling a house here right now (Chesapeake: for sale, appliances)

[VirginiaMommy]

We have been trying to sell our house since mid December..which I guess is not that long in this market, but I was just wondering if there is something we are missing. I feel like our realtor is trying everything, but lately things are just dead....There is no traffic at all. We got really good feedback when it first went on the market, so I am thinking the market itself is like this right now? I guess I need any feedback and encouragement at this point!

Oh...I didn't mention we have to relocate for job reasons...so we can't pull the house off the market.

[sheldonteam]

If you have multiple photos, and good internet exposure, those are tops when people are looking they like to see pictures, If you got good feedback why weren't they buying. Price and location are the two keys. Mid December is not a long time in this market. Ask your realtor what has sold since you listed, there is a lot out there and your home has to sparkle in this market if you hope to get a good price. Good luck

[Mark Sr.]

Originally Posted by VirginiaMommy

We have been trying to sell our house since mid December..which I guess is not that long in this market, but I was just wondering if there is something we are missing. I feel like our realtor is trying everything, but lately things are just dead....There is no traffic at all. We got really good feedback when it first went on the market, so I am thinking the market itself is like this right now? I guess I need any feedback and encouragement at this point!

Oh...I didn't mention we have to relocate for job reasons...so we can't pull the house off the market.

The most important advice is not a secret - correct pricing is critical, but timing matters too. Pricing should be based on solds/pendings, not on what else is "active" in the MLS.

You probably listed your home the second worse week of the year to list a property (the worst week being the week right before Christmas), IMO. Right before the holidays very few people are thinking of, or have the time to be, looking at homes. The most important time in marketing a home is the first 2-4 weeks when it is fresh and the maximum excitement can be generated for it. If you can time that period with a time of increasing demand, that is ideal.

The best time - maybe the second half of April. Most people have their taxes out of the way and Spring is here.

Spring/Summer is the season in this area. Things will pick up from here on out.

If someone approached me in December to sell their home, I would recommend they hold off if at all possible - at least until late January. I am sure others may disagree. Not many brokers want their agents putting off getting a signed listing agreement.

I do know those who have bought or sold around the holidays, it is just not very common nor the ideal time to be selling (especially for top dollar).

Best of Luck,

-Mark

[pbmulligan]

Do sit down with your agent and take a fresh look at your home's condition, marketing and pricing. Like knick-knacks on the shelf, housing inventory needs dusting every once in a while.

From where I sit, the market is definitely picking up. Buyers are coming out of their usual winter hibernation, military moves are up and since the interest rate rise in the last couple of weeks, I think buyers who were sitting on the fence are realizing that rates are not guarenteed to go down- despite what the Fed says they may do.

Do what you can now to make your home the one that stands out when the buyers go shopping- whatever it is: price adjustment, re-staging, landscaping, whatever. Let your light shine!

[lisadoni]

start watching HGTV. That is what we have been doing. We will putting our house on the market next month and are going to do our best to "stage" it properly. We've already started looking at some homes and it really is a big turn-off when most of the house needs a lot of updating (such as ugly wallpaper, tacky light fixtures, 70's tile, neglected yard etc.), especially when there are brand new homes in the same price range with tons of upgrades.

You don't happen to have a 4+ bedroom in Thalia, do you?

[jojo61397]

I'm a prespective homebuyer here. These are the turn-offs/turn-ons:
- Pictures, pictures, pictures, if there are not a lot of pictures on the internet, the house is off my list immediately
- Pictures that look like they are hiding something (I notices a lot of realtors use fancy fades, ect... I want to see the entire house).
- Lack of school information, most of the listings we look at we need to dig for what elementary and middle school the house is zoned for.
- ITA on the knick knacks. I want to see the house fairly empty, so I can picture what my stuff will look like.
- Neutral colors-- especially if you have wallpaper. I was looking at a home with this bright gawd awful wallpaper, and I don't want to repaper or repaint, so if it's wallpapered, it should be neutral.
- Extras, are you doing a carpet allowance? What about Closing Costs?

I'm traveling from out of state, if there isn't good internet exposure, the house isn't going to make the list of houses I want to look at.

[ellar]

We recently bought a house in Chesapeake. I was surprised by how many houses for sale in this area had horrible photos online. We came from out of state and did a lot of "shopping" online, and I could not believe the listings with blurry pictures and dark pictures etc. When we looked at houses in person, a big turn-off for us was the smell of many homes. A number of houses smelled like dogs, cats or smoke. A number of the houses were dated or were in desperate need of carpet etc. (and also had some horrible wall colors and wallpaper). When my husband and I sold our last two houses, we got brand new carpet before listing because it made the homes show so much better. We sold our first home within days and our second one within two months. Pricing is absolutely crucial too. We did not even look at some homes because they were priced higher than similar houses in the neighborhood. The mis-priced ones sat for months after we bought our house. Also, I think many people do expect interest rates to go down more since the Fed has more meetings planned. That fact combined with the uncertain economy and the glut of homes on the market will make a sale difficult. Be aggressive with pricing and try to make your home and yard as picture perfect as possible. Finally market any particular strengths that may make your home stand out. We came from an area with a slew of basement homes. We were worried about storage here since a basement was not an option, and therefore storage, including a good attic was important to us. A logical layout also became important since there were many homes here that seemed to have odd things to us such as bonus rooms over the garage (the so-called "frogs" which are not called "frogs" elsewhere), which were not attached to the rest of the upstairs. I had not seen a second floor room not attached to the rest of the upstairs before and it was a no deal thing for us. We also saw three houses that did not have enough room for a kitchen table--also no deal. If your house has a favorable layout, let your buyer know in your listing.

[jojo61397]

could not believe the listings with blurry pictures and dark pictures etc. When we looked at houses in person, a big turn-off for us was the smell of many homes.

I just wanted to add my agreement on this statement too... I big thing we have seen on internet especially with FSBO houses is really dark pictures.

Also advertise how close and far it is away from things-- if your close to a military base-- say 10 min from Langley AFB (for example). Close to shopping. Close to the hospital. You will draw more people if you advertise that you are near a workplace that will provide more customers (military, hospitals, big businesses, schools, universities).

[bbguy05]

Good Staging, great photos, and smart and competitive pricing. I agree with another poster, watch HGTV; I have learn a lot from the shows up there.

Also highlight the prominent features in your home, especially in the pictures and the ADs. If you have stainless steel appliances, let the buyers know! If you have recently renovated bathrooms or kitchens, let them know this also. Make them WANT to view and come to your house.

[dvcgal]

For us it's the backyard. We really want a backyard and we really do not want to guess (when looking at the home) where the property line is. If the house is not fenced, then get educated on where the property lines are and educate the realtor too. I hate going to look at a house where there is no fence and the realtor has no idea about how large the yard is and then the realtor turns and tells us that we can look it up. No thanks, I'll just move on since there is a surplus right now! We don't mind fencing the yard ourselves but please have some knowledge on the backyard. Also, I would say that closing cost assistance is a big one. I see that more and more now a days, that the sellers are willing to pay $3000+ in closing cost. Another thing that my husband and I have started looking at a little more are homes with warranties. Since most of the homes we are looking at are a little older having a one year home warranty brings that peace of mind when purchasing the home. I know it all adds up but in a market that is slow it may be the turning point in a sale.

Good luck on selling your home.