Increasing Property Value to Sell
Amy March 24th, 2008
According to the National Association of Realtor’s, curb appeal sells 49% of all houses. The front of your property should be alluring enough so that a buyer and agent, driving by slowly, will actually want to stop his or her car, and get out to have a look. That is curb appeal.
Your property should also give the prospective buyer a feeling of confidence in the property. Risk is something that we all avoid when buying real estate. If the property looks like it needs improvement then that perception alone will introduce the idea of risk into the transaction. However, if the property is well cared for and has tasteful decor then the perception of risk is lessened. Simply, a nice house is worth more or will sell faster, given the market conditions.
It’s important to understand the difference between price and value. Price is the amount you are asking for the property. Value is the buyer’s perception and can be influenced by location (it’s 2 miles from my office!), features, condition and most importantly, comparison to similar homes on the market. While you can’t control all of these factors, Real Estate Opinion Expert Paul Bianchina shares some tips that, when properly attended to, can have a positive impact on value and significantly increases your chance of attracting qualified buyers more willing to pay closer to the asking price, and have your home sell in less time than competing homes on your street or in your area that could be on the market for 6 months to a year.
Some tips to achieve a positive impact on value are:
- Perceived size impacts value, even more so than actual square footage. Open floor plans make a room feel bigger than larger spaces with smaller rooms. Showing property that is furniture free, or at reduced clutter, helps to make the space feel bigger.
- Vacancy increases sale-ability. Property is easier to show and easier to sell, and quicker to take possession of when it is vacant at the time it is offered for sale. Evidence of problems to take possession of the property — such as encroachments, or tenants who won’t allow buyer tours — negatively impact value. Vacancy also helps the buyer walk through the property imagining ownership. Sellers should remove personal trinkets and family pictures as well as being conveniently absent during a buyer tour.
- Cosmetics are important:
- Fresh paint will always add more value than it costs.
- Clean or new carpet/flooring adds more value than it costs.
- Landscaping adds more value than it costs. At the very minimum, make the entrance area neat.
- If you can, add some colorful flowers and new sod.
- Staging your home with a professional is a great way to sell faster or for more money. Check out staging article and the difference it makes in totally vacant homes.
- Take care of the obvious! The spot on the ceiling from the roof leak takes thousands of dollars from the perceived value and the offer price.
- Condition affects value. Do a seller’s home inspection to identify and fix the problem BEFORE closing. No point holding up your check a few extra days; plus a failed buyer’s inspection could cost you the sale. Buyers will often bargain down your asking price to accommodate for property condition and repairs.
- If you can, remodel/update the kitchen and master bathroom. These two areas have a big impact on home buying decisions. For a few hundred dollars some cosmetic upgrades can truly make a difference in the buyers perception of your home.
- Strategic renovations impact value and your bottom line. Don’t spend more money to renovate the place than you can recapture in value on the sales price.
- The AmyBSells Team can help you spend the right money in the right places. Sellers are not getting back 100% on their upgrades and added features in this market, so we want to be sure you are doing the repairs that make a difference (not the ones that don’t matter) and get your home SOLD faster and for the most money!
I had the house staged, because it was so large and empty, I felt that people would have trouble thinking of what would go in each of the rooms in the house. The house was staged, and when I held an Open House after staging, people in the area came through again and said it looked better “finished” and that they thought the first time they had been through 6 months ago, it wasn’t “done” yet. In fact, the house had been done and ready to sell, but the staging made it fell like a home and a more finished product. In addition, this home was so large with 15+ rooms, buyers had a difficult time understanding what they could or would make each room into, so we planned a home office, and a second floor family room, along with a few other ideas to fill up these rooms and give buyers ideas for what they can do with this huge home. 
Compared to completely vacant properties, the staging does make the house feel more like home, and puts the buyer more at ease with their environment. Based on the time of year the home is on the market, a lamp on a timer in almost every room is nearly a necessity. Even simple light staging will act to draw the eye away from the imperfections in the home and towards the features. This is a benefit to staging a home. In contrast, see these homes that have not been staged…
The ASP or Accredited Staging Professional Course was started by Barb Schwarz. Barb created the concept of Home Staging some 35+ years ago and has been speaking on the topic to Real Estate Agents ever since. In 2000, she created the ASP Course and Stagedhomes.com. Since then, more than 14,000 Stagers and Real Estate Agents have completed our course. As Barb says on her website: