Residential real estate agent Somone Wilder is passionate about every aspect of the industry she’s in — and about helping navigate her clients and all buyers and sellers through the sometimes complex process. To that end, she shares the top three things every seller needs to know about the current market right now.
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1. Buyer affordability is the No. 1 thing capping prices, not just interest rates! While interest rates are getting much of the blame, buyer affordability is actually at fault. Wilder notes that in this market, sellers should be prepared to make some repairs if they want to get their homes sold.
“If your home needs excessive repairs, has odors, needs landscaping, has an older roof or AC or has a solar lease or loan, these are all things that are likely to impact how much you get for your home because they all either add or subtract from your best buyer’s affordability,” she says. “Be prepared for closing cost asks, longer lists of repair requests and to potentially have to pay off your solar loans.”
2. Prices are normalizing. Through home prices skyrocketed over the last two years because the rates plummeted due to COVID, rates are now normalizing prices.
“Prices aren’t dropping but they aren’t shooting up and up like they used to,” she adds. “If you need to sell, focus on getting a fair price. Being a Scrooge McDuck is bad karma and believing your home is worth more than what the market is bearing won’t get it sold any quicker.”
3. Buyers out shopping right now are serious buyers – be a serious seller.
“Serious buyers want to be in their new home before the New Year. If you have your home on market right now the assumption is you also are motivated to sell by the end of the year… and you should want that,” Wilder says. “The New Year brings higher inventory and with that, more competition. Serious sellers need to have their properties clean and in good condition and to have realistic price expectations. Get serious so you can put together a deal while other sellers are wasting time getting stale on market (and eventually probably selling for less).”
Wilder notes that nearly every seller she talks with has equity in their properties, many without making any improvements to their homes. But serious sellers need to get their mind around what it takes to walk away from their home with the most money and not miss out on the best offer in today’s market.
For more about Wilder, visit moniewilder.com.
