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We can certainly see the impact the Stamp Duty holiday extension is having on the property market, as we have been kept very busy this week. Even so, selling your home isn’t as easy as placing a For Sale sign outside. At Deakin-White we focus on every element of the sale, so your experience is one that results in the best possible sales price whilst taking away the stress associated with moving home. But to achieve that best possible price, you need to put in the work. One thing we are seeing quite often is homeowners who don’t truly understand how to prepare their home for sale. Professional home stagers have a wealth of advice, but we have compiled the top five tips they swear by before listing your home.
Decluttering
You may have heard us speak about this before, but we can’t tell you how important it is. What buyer wants to view a disorganised home? Failing to do this simple task is something we see often; we know it can seem daunting, but by taking a room at a time you will soon have it in hand. Make sure that you keep surfaces clear of clutter – that means your kitchen worktops, bathroom vanity units and windowsills. Just because you have a surface, doesn’t mean it needs to be filled with things.
Remember to clear out cupboards, garages and other storage areas. If a buyer sees that there isn’t enough room for your belongings, they may feel that storage will be lacking for them too. Decluttering isn’t just about organising, it also opens up spaces and makes them feel more spacious, which is always a plus point for potential buyers.
Refreshing Décor
Every buyer will want to put their own stamp on the home they buy, but that doesn’t mean they will want to fully redecorate the minute they get their keys. It is natural for a home’s décor to become tired over time and it’s amazing the transformation a quick coat of paint can achieve. Yes, neutral tones are generally preferred but that doesn’t mean that this is always true. You may have used bold and elegant shades throughout your house that create a striking and stylish interior. There is no doubt that this may grab the attention of buyers with similar tastes, but just bear in mind it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
That being said, if you have a more dated décor scheme or one which only its owner could love, then failing to make a few changes can turn buyers off. Grabbing a buyer’s attention as quickly as possible is essential, so it’s important to do everything you can to stop them quickly moving onto the next property and leaving yours behind.
Don’t Neglect The Small Stuff
You may have some little niggles in your home which you haven’t got round to addressing; it could be changing the light bulb in the entrance hall, or tightening that loose handle on the bathroom door. You would be surprised the negative effect that neglecting to take care of the small stuff can have on a buyer’s impression of your property. They may start to wonder what else is broken in your home – are there problems they can’t see? Don’t leave them with any doubt, get those jobs done so that buyers can see the care and attention you have given the property whilst living there.
Staging Your Home
Staging a home is an art. It doesn’t mean stripping a room bear and leaving a stark, clinical look, but you also don’t want it to look like life has just exploded in each room. You want a careful balance of cleanliness and order, with those careful touches that make it feel like a home. Remember to take away personal photos, as these remind a buyer that this is your property, when they should be thinking about how they might live there. Staging is all about those finishing touches, a vase of fresh flowers placed on the dining table; a small tray ready for a cream tea in the garden; a throw and a book carefully placed on the bedroom chair…
Home magazines are the perfect inspiration, or you could look at photographs from show homes – these professionals know how to create a lifestyle that buyers will want to buy into.
Now it’s Time to List
Yes, all this work should be undertaken before you invite an estate agent in to value your home, why? Because how your home is presented could affect your home’s valuation. This is again where many sellers go wrong, but if you have this all done before your home is listed, your marketing photographs and videos will show your home at its best and grab the attention of all those eager and ready-to-move buyers.
If you are unsure how to prepare your home for sale, please contact a member of our team and we would be happy to give you our honest advice on what will have the biggest impact for your home.
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Sorting fact from fiction when selling your home
Every home sale is different, and it is understandable that through whispers, chats over the fence, and listening into conversations whilst having a coffee, misunderstandings can occur. In normal times, we would often hear some amazingly creative stories whilst going about our business, so now that the Stamp Duty holiday has been extended and we’re busy helping homeowners to get their property on the market, we thought now would be a great time to sort out the fact and the fiction, once and for all.
Spring is a fantastic time to sell your home
The property market always has peaks and troughs, but the springtime always sees a rise in people looking to sell their home. This year is obviously very different, but the signs are still that we are in for a busy spring.
The chancellor’s Budget announcement that the Stamp Duty holiday will be extended, followed by a reduction, along with the new Mortgage Guarantee, will no doubt give confidence to those who may have been reluctant to consider a move. Add to this the successful vaccine roll out, the children going back to school and the roadmap to recovery, we think that there will be a burst of activity in the spring market.
Buyers decide quickly
If you have bought a home before then you will know that this is no old wives tale, you kind of have an inkling very early on if a home is doing it for you. We see it first-hand all the time: the excited buyers filled with anticipation, then the door opens and the house is not what they expected, disappointment takes hold and you see that initial zest start to fizzle away.
Then you open another door; they may be a little apprehensive this time, but within seconds you see their whole demeanour change. They have it, that feeling that is often hard to describe, but simply says to them, ‘home’. Not everyone is easy to read, some people like to challenge us and keep us guessing, but behind that non-emotive exterior they still know if the property is for them or not.
Studies have found that buyers make a decision within 15 minutes or less. It’s amazing that in that time we make the decision on one of the biggest assets we’ll purchase in our lives.
People will see past it!
Whether that’s clutter, an unkempt garden, overbearing furniture, a tired décor or some dodgy DIY, when it comes to selling your home, no one will see past it. Buyers are looking for a home where they can see themselves living and each little sign of neglect is a barrier that you’re making a buyer leap over. This is why it’s important to do all you can to present your home for sale, taking time to declutter and get each room organised. Tick off all those jobs you may have been leaving for another day and give your home a fresh lick of paint, neutral shades are always preferred.
Don’t put all your effort into the inside of your property, though, also think about the exterior. Summer will be here in the blink of an eye and, after the year we’ve had, buyers want to see themselves enjoying the garden, entertaining with their friends and family and making the most of some sort of normality.
All estate agents are the same
We have to disagree here. We may offer the same service but our delivery and quirks are always different, just like no two supermarkets or cars are the same. But to put this to the test, when you’re ready to get moving, please give our team a call and we can show you how we will sell your home.
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There are rumblings in the press that the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, will extend the Stamp Duty holiday deadline until the end of June. This is fantastic news for all those people who are in the process of completing and have been worried if it will happen in time. The Stamp Duty holiday certainly fired up the property market last year across the UK, and we saw many people moving as a result. Regardless of whether these rumblings become reality or not, we still believe that now is a great time to sell your home.
Are there buyers?
Even during a lockdown, the desire to move never fades, and that is proven when you take a look at February’s House Price Index from Rightmove. The index shows that visits to the property website are up 45% on last year, with those eager house-hunters increasing the number of enquiries by 18%. At Deakin-White we have really felt this buyer increase; it seems that the prospect of a restriction-free (ish) summer has got people looking to the future, and for many this includes a new home.
What can they buy?
As fantastic as this surge of buyers is, there is a problem: demand is outstripped by supply, there are just not enough houses on the market for them to buy. Rightmove figures also show that seller numbers are down by 21% from last year. In a sellers’ market such as this, it means that any home on the market will receive lots of attention, especially if it is priced correctly and marketed properly.
Where is the supply?
One of the reasons suggested for the lack of available properties is that people have resisted the urge to place their home on the market due to the pressures of home schooling. If you, like us, are trying to keep your sanity whilst googling ‘how to…’ to help your child with their schoolwork, you are not alone. Whoever said moving home is one of the most stressful things you can do in life, hasn’t experienced a lockdown with home schooling alongside home working – thank goodness it comes to an end on 8th March.