
Stone goes on to add, "A lot of sellers I work with say, 'How much can this possibly matter?' The answer? A lot! Buyers, particularly millennial buyers who have grown up with HGTV lack the visualization to see a room that is cluttered with dated bulky furniture and be able to imagine the 'after.' You have to serve it up to them on a silver platter." Evaluate the walls, ceiling, and moldings, where are touch-ups needed?" Then, make sure your home is sparkling clean. Depersonalize! Take down all your family photos and high school diplomas, and yes, even your mvp trophy from your high school tennis team. All the toys, stacks of mail, pet items, and food bowls, all of that goes in the closets/ basements/ or attic. Remove absolutely everything besides the furniture, your rugs, and decor. If you prefer to DIY, Stone suggests, "Start off with decluttering and organizing. You can hire a company such as Showhomes to have your house professionally staged. In essence, staging not only increases the value of a home, but also helps it sell faster." Additionally, staged homes spend 70% less time on the market. "According to a 2021 study by the National Association of Realtors, staging a home can increase the offered price by 1% to 5% compared to similar unstaged homes on the market. "Staging a home well helps potential buyers visualize themselves living there, boosting their emotional connection to the property," says Garcia. "Staging" your home to get it ready for visitors might not count as a permanent feature of your house, but it can definitely affect your sale. Armed with that knowledge, you can make a few tweaks to your home, and take advantage of this seller's market. In addition to Patchen, we chatted with real estate agents Denis Smykalov of Wolsen Real Estate, Casey Napolitano of NDA Real Estate, Sarah Stone of Douglas Elliman, and Kevin Garcia of WLM Realty to find out the five home features that are most likely to lead to your home selling for more than your asking price.

That's why when you’re selling, you need to be thoughtful about what draws people into your home, from pricing the home correctly to recent upgrades and even staging, which results in a higher demand for the property."

Visualize exterior house paint drivers#
Patchen points out that, "The features of the home are big drivers for multiple buyers to bid on the same property. But that doesn't mean there aren't things you can do to ensure that your property-wherever it is-will net top dollar or even inspire a bidding war. "Bidding wars are typically driven by high demand in a particular area and a low supply of homes," says Jen Patchen, a real estate agent with Opendoor. Well, that applies to what drives home sales, too. You remember the first rule of real estate, right? Location, location, location.
