NEWSLETTER #004

4 MIN READ

Are you a house proud home owner thinking of putting your home on the real estate market while living in it? Here's one strategy you can implement now that will add immediate value to your on-the-market home.

Visit open homes to view what sellers in your suburb are doing.

It’s something that every home seller has access to, but very few do. To some it may seem superficial, but to those who do it, a wealth of insider knowledge awaits them. And yes, it can be done as early as today.

Chloe, a young mum with a full-time job, followed this one simple principle before placing her home on the market.

The best 'before you lift a finger' home presentation secret is:

"Attend as many open homes as you can."

Savvy Selling

Open homes aren’t just for buyers, they’re for smart sellers too.

Most home sellers will go to open homes in the market they are buying in, but not the market they are selling in. But you're a savvy seller, you want to see what your neighbours with homes for sale in your price range are doing right, right?

Visiting open homes and viewing what else is on the market in your price range and in your area before you start preparing your home for sale, is such valuable research. Understanding what works and what doesn't in your market, takes more than viewing homes online. You need to educate yourself by seeing them in person.

It's important to remember that you don't want to be following what others are doing, especially if they're doing it wrong.

“We didn’t realise the importance of what we had done (home styling) until we went to open homes and saw what else was on the market. Almost nobody was doing what we were doing and we were shocked at what we saw.” said Chloe.

What she saw were some great examples of poor presentation, substandard marketing and poor salesmanship. This allowed Chloe to make adjustments to her own home's presentation.

 Identify your target market before selling your occupied home and style accordingly

Attending open homes is the first strategy I recommend to my clients because, in fact, going to hundreds of open homes myself was how I became a property stylist. They taught me how homeowners prepare and present their homes for sale and, more importantly, how they don’t.

“I could see how much money my neighbours were leaving on the table and I felt very lucky that I had gotten expert advice beforehand,” said home owner Chloe.

What To Look For

There are three key wealth creation opportunities that open homes offer you as a seller:

• You will find the best Agents in your area at your price range.

Even if you’ve chosen an agent, it’s a good idea to see first hand who is selling in your area.  How do they invite people into open homes? Do they follow up with you? What questions do they ask?

• Viewing open homes helps you determine a realistic Price range.

Open homes give you an indication of where to set your asking price by showing you what is on offer in your price range.  Don’t you think it’s far better to base your asking price on real market indicators and first hand research?

Keep in mind though, that asking price and selling are two completely different price ranges.  Dig past the ‘for sale’ sign and check what properties in your area are actually selling for.  Your agent should be able to provide a comparative price list.

• You will identify your Target Market

Hint: Your target market are the other groups at the open homes. 

*Identifying your target market is so critical, we devote time to it in the FREE Video Series. 

Don’t assume you know anything before you start researching other homes in your price bracket. Even if a day of open homes only confirms what you’ve suspected beforehand, aren’t you still far ahead of the game for having seen it with your own eyes and coming to your own conclusions?

Once you have this information, it’s really important that you use it wisely. I was speaking to one of the nation’s top real estate journalists the other day, and what she told me about home-for-sale presentation really surprised me.

She said, “The problem is, a lot of the homes I go into look the same.”

It makes you realise that there’s no profit in creating a carbon copy of someone else’s home. Don’t copy exactly what the others are doing but follow the secrets to making the most of your home with Presentation Sells.

Photos by Pro Vision Image

 About Tracey

Tracey McLeod is an internationally recognised award-winning interior decorator and home stager and a visual marketing specialist in-home presentation that sells.

Combining her extensive experience in interior decor with a strong background in marketing, Tracey helps home sellers, property specialists, and real estate agents to maximise sale price by creating 'fall in love factor' for buyers through home presentation.

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