The volatility of the real estate market is enough to give the typical homeseller or buyer a case of angina. Is it the right time to sell? Is it the right time to buy? The answer is yes. Or no. Or perhaps maybe.
Sellers and buyers are on edge because conditions might vary from, say, College Park to Hyattsville. Some areas are seeing listings with multiple offers, while houses languish for months in other markets. An unstable job market, federal layoffs and stubbornly high interest rates all contribute to the uncertainty. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, houses stayed on the market an average of 57 days in March.
Redfin says on its website that late April is the sweet spot for sellers. Homes listed during this period have the highest chance of selling fast and fetching more than the asking price. This tracks with anecdotal evidence from real estate agents and home builders, who typically viewed spring as the selling season.
But all real estate is local. What happens in one market does not necessarily happen in the other. Plus, the old spring selling construct is starting to crumble. Despite what the market is doing or the time of year, sometimes people are forced to move. Ann Barrett, a real estate agent and a longtime Hyattsville resident, says homeowners sell when it’s going to make the most sense for them. “I sell houses all year long,” she says. “I put houses on the market in December. … Waiting for the spring market is not for everyone.”
The question remains: How do sellers improve their chances of getting a sale? Barrett says homeowners need to take a holistic overview of their house and understand that they’ll need to spend some money and assess where to spend it.
“I don’t look at it necessarily as a percentage, but I would say that most of my clients spend somewhere between $7,000 and $10,000 in preparing their home for sale,” says Barrett, who is with Long & Foster in College Park. “And those are simple things like paint and landscaping.”
Perhaps a more important thing for homeowners to think about is how to remove the “distractors” in their homes — things that might be broken, need repair or simply old. “From the moment a buyer walks in the door, they know what your sales price is and they just start subtracting,” Barrett says. “‘I’ve got to do this, I’ve got to do that.’”
With repairs done, it’s time for a good cleaning and some organizing. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) says homeowners should pare down clutter and pack up all least-used items. “Clean the windows, carpets, walls, lighting fixtures and baseboards to make the house shine,” the association says.
In most cases, buyers order an inspection during the sales process, but a seller may also do a pre-sale inspection. “An inspector will be able to give you a good indication of the trouble areas that will stand out to potential buyers, and you’ll be able to make repairs before open houses begin,” NAR says.
Barrett says a pre-sale inspection is not a bad idea, but it’s not ideal for all homes. ‘It’s not what we usually do in this market because of our lower price points in some areas, but I did just have a client do it in West Hyattsville,” she says. “It got us three offers within two days of putting it on the market.”
Another important area to consider is curb appeal. Depending on who you talk to, it may be the most important area of concern. “It plays an important role in shaping the first impression for neighbors, passersby, and potential buyers,” says Maria Betalvi with Solid Home Improvement in Hyattsville. “Well-maintained landscaping can elevate the entire neighborhood and reflect a homeowner’s sense of care.”
NAR says sellers should walk out to the front of their homes, close their eyes and pretend they are prospective buyers seeing the property for the first time. Ryan Hehman, an agent with Compass and a Hyattsville resident, agrees, saying sellers should try to see their home as a potential buyer might see it.
“What would they like or dislike? Would there be any drawbacks for a first-time home buyer, family with kids, or older person downsizing? This will help you understand what repairs or adjustments to make before listing, or what features you would like to emphasize in marketing.”
If homeowners want to be proactive, Hehman says they should have detailed knowledge of the conditions of major items in the home — stove, fridge, heating system, and so on — ages and when they were last serviced. “These are questions that we receive from almost all buyers, and I always try to point out or find out the age of these systems for my buyer clients because they represent some of the largest investments you will make in your home.”
Homeowners also should be mindful of paraphernalia or decor that might be offensive to buyers, and they should remove personal photos, says Barrett. “You don’t want your wedding photos going up and down the staircase because then they stop and they look and go, ‘Hey, do I know Maynard? Have I seen him before?’”
But the house doesn’t have to be sterile. Barrett believes homes should still have some personality and maybe a little bit of a vibe. “Hyattsville is artsy, and people want to see the personality,” she says. “I’m not one that clears out a house and has it staged with contemporary furniture. I use my clients’ furniture and items to stage their home to the best that we possibly can.”
Finally, make sure the house is priced right. This is the purview of the agent, who runs comps and other data to generate a price that is likely to lead to a sale. Pricing is also important because it has to reflect the appraised value. “The appraiser is data driven and history driven,” Barrett says. “I love it, and I hate it when my neighbors come to me and say, ‘But that house sold for x four years ago.’ That was four years ago and a whole other world. Look at the most recent comps, maintain your expectations, and use a professional to guide you through the process.”