How Can You Sell in Record Time and With Multiple Offers?

Calgary Real Estate Podcast with Eric Mortimer

Here’s how to tackle a home sale prudently from start to finish. How do we move sellers from ‘Just Listed’ to ‘Sold’ so quickly? What you want to avoid is a price reduction, or adding a stigma to your property by having it expire on the market. We’ve taken over a number of properties that have expired two or three times and we’ve managed to sell them simply because we employed the right strategies. There was a time when sellers could wing it and still get their home sold, but flying by the seat of your pants is no longer an option. In today’s market, you have to master product, pricing, promotion, and distribution. At 1:22 in the video above, you can catch us finishing up the pre-launch period of a property. We promote and prepare properties for showings and advertisements a full week before they hit the market. That way, we can ensure that everything is lined up properly and that our ‘coming soon’ promotions are well-crafted. Think about it this way: Could you imagine if the first time anyone heard about the latest Star Wars or Marvel movie was after its release? Of course, studios promote those films weeks, months, and sometimes even years before they premiere to create buzz. We do the same thing for our sellers’ homes. For example, a buyer came two weeks before a property of ours in Cochran was even listed because they had seen the ‘coming soon’ signage and promotional content on social media. I was also feeding information to the buyer’s agent during that two-week period so that when the property officially hit the market, they submitted an offer close to asking price within 24 hours. “Think about the showing process like a Band-aid being ripped off: You can do it quickly, or you can do it slowly.” Don’t cheap out and forego professional photography. People are still using their cell phones for pictures, or just opting for one good photo. Always make sure you have top-quality HD photography. You may also want to consider creating a 3D virtual tour or something of the sort. Remember: Don’t tell, show. For example, don’t just tell me a certain area of your house could be used as an office—take the time to set it up as an office space. At 3:16 you can see our stager did an awesome job converting a corner of this home into a lovely work area. Make sure your bathrooms and kitchen show their best by cleaning them and keeping them free of debris or clutter. Your closets should be at least half empty so that it looks like they offer ample storage. When it comes to pricing, you want to make sure you’re offering the most value for the dollar. So, if two properties are identical, you’ll either have a pricing war or beauty contest, both of which need to be approached aggressively. We’re going to price it such that your property will be the no-brainer pick; not only will it be presented more beautifully than the other property, but that beauty will be at the best price. Distribution is the ease of access. People should be able to enter your home easily and safely. A property that has a tenant in it and requires a 24-hour notice for showings will not be as attractive as one that’s vacant. That means if you’re living in the home you’re trying to sell, it’s incumbent upon you to be as flexible as possible with your availability. You won’t have to have a ton of showings if you do things properly from the jump. Think about the showing process like a Band-aid being ripped off: You can do it quickly, or you can do it slowly. Even in today’s market, you can still expect multiple offers if you nail down the product, price, promotion, and distribution. Should you fail in any one of these areas, your home may not even sell. If you have any questions about how you can optimize your home sale, give me a call, text, or email. I’d love to chat with you about your specific situation.