August 6, 2024 | Selling
What Are the Secrets of Selling a Home in Pickering?
As one of the fastest-growing cities in the GTA, Pickering has caught the eye of many aspiring homeowners. Greater affordability and a high quality of life result in an almost unquenchable demand, making now a perfect time to sell your Pickering home. With the exciting new developments happening in Seaton, the city is becoming even more popular for families and young professionals alike
When it comes time to sell your home, there are always a few small details to attend to if you want to earn top dollar. It pays to make your listing stand out, whether the market is on fire or a little on the slower side. In today’s post, we’ll highlight a few of the simplest ways to ensure your transaction is both successful and profitable.
Why are buyers falling in love with Pickering? You’ll find just a few reasons in the posts below:
Work With a Pickering Real Estate Expert
The fastest and easiest way to maximize your results is to connect with a local real estate agent you trust to get the desired results. Think of it this way. It might take you months to prepare your home on your own while you’re juggling your already busy life. But a local agent will have connections to help you get everything done on your behalf with almost no disruption to your daily routine.
If this ease and speed sound expensive, there’s something else to consider. A homeowner who uses an experienced and knowledgeable real estate agent will almost always earn more at the end of the day than someone who forgoes their services.
Expert advice, a network of connections, and access to industry stats and insights don’t just take stress and anxiety off your shoulders. They lead to real-world results and a higher amount in your bank account upon closing day.
Finding the Right Fit
Finding a real estate team that’s the right fit will take a little bit of research and background work, but it will be well worth the initial effort. A great place to start is to check out the websites of some of the top services in your area to get a feel for their local expertise.
You can also check out their Google reviews to see how many happy clients they’ve worked with in the past. Once you find a few that check all of your boxes, reach out with a phone call or email to see what your instincts tell you. If they respond quickly to your messages, that could be an excellent indication that you can expect superior communication and service.
Do the Background Work
Some people often don’t realize the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes long before the“For Sale” sign goes up on the lawn. Not just the effort of getting a home ready to impress, but the background research into what type of market we are currently facing, who the buyers are, what property types are selling, and for how much.
Understanding the nuances of the market, both as a whole and within your own neighbourhood, is essential for a successful transaction. Operating without this insight is like shooting at a dartboard while blindfolded.
You might hit the mark, but it would be more the result of random luck than a carefully planned strategy proven to work. You may also find a buyer, but fail to earn the full value from your home. Selling for top dollar is the result of up-to-the-minute data, knowing what those numbers mean and how they will determine your strategy to prepare, price, and promote your listing.
A great way to start is by getting an experienced Pickering real estate agent to perform a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis). They will examine each attribute of your home and analyze its value based on current market statistics.
The square footage, layout, recent upgrades, lot size, location, and number of bedrooms and bathrooms will all factor in. Armed with this valuable information, we can determine the right price point that will appeal to the highest number of potential buyers. But this is not all. There are tangible and intangible factors that play a role when professionals ascertain the value of a property.
Clean, Declutter, and Update
Some aspects of a house can’t be changed, at least not easily. Extensive renovations can drastically alter your home’s appearance, but will take time and a significant investment. Other improvements are relatively simple and will help buyers envision living in your space. As much as possible, we like to focus on the minor upgrades that will offer a substantial return on investment.
Cleaning and decluttering meticulously is the fastest and least expensive improvement that quickly increases the perceived value of your house. If you do nothing else, this step alone will help you fetch a higher price on closing day.
Other minor updates that yield a high return include:
- Painting the interior walls
- Replacing old and outdated fixtures
- Upgrading the handles and knobs on all cupboard doors and drawers
- Re-applying the silicone around sinks and bathtubs
A successful home sale in Pickering requires a plan. The resources below will help you form your strategy:
- What’s the Deal with Property Walkthrough Videos?
- Is Staging the Ultimate Home Selling Secret?
- How to Make Your House Appeal to the Next Generation
Make the Outside Shine
When you want to sell at top dollar, it’s critical to pay close attention to the outside of your property. Homeowners tend to focus primarily on the inside, but the front yard and entranceway make an immediate first impression on potential buyers.
You want this first experience to be a positive one. Once again, a few simple maintenance tasks can do the trick:
- Mow the lawn and keep it well-watered
- Clean up any debris lying around the yard
- Trim any hedges
- Add a colourful garden or seasonal decor
Stage to Impress
Once the inside and outside of your home are sparkling clean and nicely updated, you can turn your attention to staging. This means decorating and arranging each room strategically to help buyers imagine living in your space.
Unlike designing for your own purposes, staging is performed with the buyer in mind. You don’t want to remind them that they are in someone else’s home, but that they’re walking through “their home.” They should feel like they already own the space and can “see” themselves and their families living here.
As part of your overall plan, staging can help you sell your home faster while earning more from the transaction. If the market is slow, it can be the difference between a quick sale and not finding a buyer at all. When the market is hot, staging can be the piece of the puzzle that allows you to command top dollar for your home.
Do you want personal guidance to make the most out of your sale? Our Pickering real estate agents are happy to provide you with our valuable market insights. Reach out to info@teamrajpal.com or call 647-875-8000 to take the next step.
Tune Into Our Podcast
Listen to us dive into important real estate topics that add value to your next venture.
