Before you put your property on the market, it’s worth considering all the ways you can maximise your sales price. There are many options, depending on your budget. Talk to your agent about the best areas to spend money for the most impact. Here are just a few ideas.
1. Choose the right agent
The right agent will make a big difference to your final sale price. You need an agent who can promote your property well to increase the number of genuine buyers through your home.
More buyers means more competition, and having a great agent deal with multiple offers on your property will maximise your price.
Some agents already have suitable buyers in their database, which could bring you buyers for a minimal advertising budget.
Remember: the agent works for you. So you need the best partner you can get to maximise your sales price.
2. Make a great first impression
The old expression ‘three strikes and you’re out’ relates well to how buyers inspect property. If they see three negative things about your property’s presentation, they’ll tune out.
First impressions are everything. To test this, go outside to your front footpath and examine your property with an objective eye. How good is the presentation of your:
- letterbox
- garden
- gutters
- bargeboards
- lawn
- driveway.
You can probably see things to fix straight away. If your home tends to be a bit dark, don’t forget to prune the bushes and trees to bring more light into the home.
3. Clean and declutter
This is the time to minimise the clutter in your home – and you need to be ruthless! Buyers are attracted to clean, uncluttered surfaces. So the key is to minimise everything.
Homes actually look larger once all the clutter is removed. The more stuff you have, the smaller the space looks.
Hire a storage room if you need to or ask someone if they have temporary space in their garage.
Don’t take down all your personal photos – you still want to present a home that your buyers can imagine themselves in. Just minimise the number of them.
4. Sell at the right time
Seasonally, people come out when the weather gets hotter and retreat when it’s cold. It’s the same pattern with property selling – traditionally, people stay indoors during winter and sales drop.
Traditionally, after school holidays in the first quarter of the year is the best time to sell in Australia. Followed by the last quarter of the year.
5. Use the right selling method
You have several options for how to sell your home:
- private treaty
- auction
- tender/best offer by.
The best method will be different for everyone. Sometimes it’s important to quote a price, while other times it’s best to hold the price from the market. Your agent can recommend the best method for you to maximise your sale price.
Bourkes is having great success with our Best Offer By campaigns. Call us on (08) 94742000 to discuss.
6. Spend money on marketing
When it comes to marketing their property, many sellers are ‘penny wise and pound foolish’.
You can think of your marketing spend like a fishing net. The wider you cast it, the more fish you’ll catch. The more fish, the greater the bounty (i.e. the higher price you’ll achieve).
You don’t want to wish later on that you’d spent more.
7. Decide on price or no price
When you sell your property, you need to decide whether to set a price or not give buyers a price at all.
If you decide to set a price for your property, you have several choices:
- fixed price (e.g. $499,000)
- price range ($470,000–490,000)
- ‘from’ price (e.g. from $470,000)
- vague price (e.g. late $400s).
If you decide not to set a price at all, your options are:
- auction
- expression of interest
- tender.
Talk to your agent about what will work best for you.
8. Make necessary improvements
Buyers have expectations about what they want in a home – the more you can meet them, the more buyers you’ll attract. For example, if you have a four-bedroom home, buyers expect two bathrooms.
If you have two-bedroom, two-bathroom home, they expect another bedroom. If you have a carport, can you make it two carports for families with two cars?
It doesn’t have to be expensive undertaking. Sometimes rooms can be created out of wasted hallways or a bathroom can be built onto the side of the home. We’ve seen an extra bathroom incorporated into a large balcony!
These changes will make a big difference to the final sales price.
9. Paint
Sometimes, small changes can have a big impact on the feel of a home. If your wall colour is outdated, you could paint a room, or even the whole home, to bring it up to date.
Alternatively, you may only need to patch up some holes and paint over marks. These small jobs are essential for a good first impression.
10. Re-tile or paint the tiles
Re-tiling a bathroom is expensive, but worth it if it brings more buyers. However, you may be able to use tile paint to achieve a good result at minimal cost.
Also check your shower screens. If they’re old, armoured glass, replace them with transparent safety glass.
You may be able to do small, simple jobs yourself, but make sure you get a professional for larger jobs.
11. Resurface kitchen doors and benchtops
If your kitchen cupboards and benchtops are outdated, you may not need to replace the whole setup. Often, you can keep the kitchen cupboard carcass and just add new doors and benchtop.
You can choose from stone or composite materials, though stone tops do considerably enhance sale prices.
12. Update your lights
Check your property for outdated light fittings and replace them with modern ones. Often, changing quartz halogen lights with LEDs can improve the look and the amount of light in the home.
13. Replace the carpet
If the carpet on stairs and corridors is worn, you could recarpet these areas to improve the property’s presentation. If room carpets are particularly old or damaged, they should be replaced with timber or tiles.
There are many other ways to improve your sales price. If you have any queries or would like assistance with your sale, contact Alan Bourke or anyone from Bourkes on (08) 9474 2000.
