Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

If selling your   house   is on your to-do list this year, the time to   start prepping   is now. That’s because experts say the best week to list your house is coming up fast. A recent  Realtor.com   study  analyzed years of housing market trends (excluding 2020 since it was an outlier) and found that  April 13–19 is expected to be the ideal window to put your house on the market this year: “ . . . we’ve identified April 13-19 as the best week to list for sellers  . . . a seller listing a well-priced, move-in ready home is likely to find success.  Because spring is generally the high season for real estate activity and buyers are more plentiful earlier rather than later in the year, listing earlier in the spring raises a seller’s odds of a successful sale .” What Makes This Week Stand Out? As the quote mentions, spring is almost always a strong season for sellers. But this particular week could give you an even bigger advantage this yea...

By listing your home in January, you can capitalize on the buyers looking to buy before the busy and competitive spring market. For many, January is a fresh start, and that can mean a re-energized home search for many interested buyers. 

Prior to listing your home you should have an independent inspector give the house a once over. That way, problems can be spotted — and corrected — before a would-be buyer ever gets wind of them. Before you have your home inspected you should fix items you know are broken — the little things every owner learns to live with — before they become bargaining points. Your agent should provide you with a pre-inspection checklist so all parties can be as sure as possible that the house is inspection-ready. There are a lot of things you (the seller) can do, but if you are not skilled at certain repairs, even the simplest ones, you should call a professional. Not only can inspectors spot amateurish, sub-par work, they will wonder about the quality of repairs that are less visible. When repairs are made, either by you (the seller) or a professional contractor, it’s a good idea to have paid receipts and warranties on hand for the inspector and buyer. Finally, on the day of the inspection, seller...