Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

  The Role of Access in Selling Your House March 21, 2023 For Sellers Housing Market Updates Selling Myths Once you’ve made the decision to  sell  your house and have  hired  a real estate agent to help, they’ll ask how much access to your home you want to give potential buyers. Your answer matters more now than it did in recent years. Here’s why. At the height of the buying  frenzy  seen during the pandemic, there was a rise in the number of homebuyers who put offers on houses sight unseen. That happened for three reasons: Extremely low housing inventory A lot of competition from other buyers wanting to take advantage of historically low mortgage rates And general wariness of in-person home tours during a pandemic Today, the market’s changing, and buyers can usually be more selective and take more time to explore their  options . So, in order to show your house and  sell  it efficiently, you’ll want to provide buyers with as much access as you can. Before letting your agent know what

  Last year, the housing market slowed down in response to higher mortgage rates, and that had an impact on home prices. If you're thinking of  selling  your house soon, that means you'll want to adjust your expectations accordingly. As  realtor.com   explains : . . . some of the more prominent pandemic trends have changed,  so sellers might wish to adjust accordingly to get the best deal possible . In a more moderate market, how you price your house will make a big difference to not only your bottom line, but to how quickly your house could sell. And the reality is, homes priced right are still selling in today's market. Why Pricing Your House Appropriately Matters Especially today, your asking price sends a message to potential buyers. If it's priced too low, you may leave money on the table or discourage buyers who may see a lower-than-expected price tag and wonder if that means something is wrong with the home. If it's priced too high, you run the risk of deterr

Sellers offer concessions as an incentive to encourage buyers to purchase their home.  The concessions, paid for by the seller, benefit the buyer in ways that may be more appealing than possibly, being able to purchase the home for a lower price. In some situations, buyers have good income, credit, and even the down payment to purchase a home but not necessarily enough cash reserves to pay their closing costs.  Another possibility is that there could be a feature in the home that the buyer wants replaced but can't afford to do it themselves.  If the seller agrees to make that improvement, it could cause the buyer to act favorably. Concessions could include paying the buyer's closing costs, buying down the interest rate, or any possible combination of physical improvements or upgrades to the property. Sellers, occasionally, question why they should provide concessions to a buyer.  It should be obvious; it improves the marketability of the home.  With less than the no