7 Tips To Sell Your Property
Deciding to sell your home can be a challenging experience, from determining the value of your property to negotiating with buyers and closing the sale, there are many factors to consider.
But, with some preparation, the right mindset, and the right agent, you can navigate the property market successfully and sell your home for the best price.
In this article, we’ll provide some helpful tips to help you sell your property in Canberra (and surrounds) smoothly and efficiently. From preparing your home for sale, to working with a real estate agent, we’ll cover all the essential steps you need to take in order to maximise your profits and successfully sell your property.
1. Prepare Yourself and Your Property
When considering selling, it’s best practice to set a real estate goal and familiarize yourself with recent property sales in your area.
Comparing your property to similar properties in the area will give you an idea of the market value of your property and help you set a competitive (and realistic) asking price.
To maximise the value of your home, before you list your property for sale, we highly encourage you to ensure it’s in peak condition.
We recommend conducting an in-depth inspection of your home and creating a list of any necessary repairs or renovations to take care of, no matter how big or small, in order to increase your chances of a successful sale.
Below are some additional things you can do:
Determine Your Motivation for Selling
Knowing why you’re selling your property can help you set realistic expectations and make informed decisions throughout the process. Are you looking to upgrade, downsize, or relocate? Are you looking to make a quick sale or after the highest profit?
Understanding your motivations can also help you determine the right timing and pricing for your property.
Request a Professional Appraisal
A professional appraisal can help you determine the market value of your property and give you a good idea of what you can expect to sell it for. This can also help you set a competitive asking price and avoid overpricing or underpricing your property.
Make Necessary Repairs and Improvements
Before you put your property on the market, it’s a good idea to make any necessary repairs or improvements. This can include tasks such as fixing leaking faucets, replacing broken windows, painting the walls, or replacing the flooring. These small investments can go a long way in helping you sell your property for the best price, maximising your overall profits.
Stage Your Property for Inspections
Staging your property can make a big difference in how it’s perceived by potential buyers. This can include things like cleaning and decluttering, removing personal items, rearranging furniture to showcase its best features, and adding decorative touches like fresh flowers or scented candles.
This preparation will help prospective buyers connect with the house on a more personal level, as it helps them imagine themselves moving straight in.
Consider Hiring a Professional Stager
If you’re not sure how to stage your property, or you don’t have the time to do it yourself, you may want to consider hiring a professional stager.
Professional stylists are trained in how to present a property in the best possible light, highlighting the amenity a house has to offer, as well as any unique features, to help maximize its appeal to potential buyers.
Gather Necessary Documents
There are a number of documents you’ll need to have on hand when selling your property in Canberra (and surrounds). These can include a title deed, a building and pest report, council rates and proof of ownership. Ensure sure you have these documents organized and ready to provide to your sales agent, to pass along to prospective buyers.
2. Choose Your Sales Method BEFORE You Set Your Price
There are many important decisions you’ll need to make, from choosing the right sales method to setting a price that works best for you.
You can start by asking yourself: “How do I want to sell my property?”
When selling your property, you have the option to choose between private treaty or an auction as your sales method.
While we believe in your capabilities, to think for your property’s sake, this is one of the times where you wouldn’t want to go solo. Consider asking an experienced real estate agent to assist you with determining the most suitable sales method. Agents will base the sales method of your property on the type of property you are selling, the current market conditions and the recent sales in the area.
But why pay for something that you can essentially do for free?
Think of it this way… you don’t pay a plumber for banging pipes, you pay them because they know where to bang to fix the issue. A real estate agent can give you sound advice, on the value of your property, based on their experience and in-depth knowledge of comparable properties and recent sales. They will also assist you in setting an appropriate asking price (for a private sale) or guide price (for an auction) and inform you of which option is best suited for your property.
Let’s talk about the difference:
Private Treaty
Selling your property via private treaty has its pros and cons.
Pros: your property can be advertised on the market for a longer period of time, allowing you more time to consider offers.
Cons: you face the risk that your property may not sell if the asking price is too high (or you may miss out on maximizing the price, if it is advertised too low).
Auction
Selling your property via auction creates competition between buyers and provides the opportunity to drive the sale price up. However, it can be a risky option as you will not know of interested buyers, or what they think your property is worth, until the day of the auction.
It’s important to make sure your price guide (and ultimately your reserve price, pre-auction) is in line with the prices of similar properties in your area, so you don’t deter potential buyers. Keep in mind that while you may have an ideal price in mind, it’s important to be realistic in order to attract interested buyers.
Property prices in different suburbs of Canberra can vary significantly from month to month, based on the rise and fall of property prices seen all over Australia.
To illustrate this point, see the following graphs below which show the changes in property prices over the past years. As you can see, there are significant rises and falls in property prices during this time period.
Source: Domain.com.au: House Price Report 2023
Over the First Quarter of 2023, the housing market in Canberra slowed significantly and house prices are now falling at their fastest rate on record. The housing market in Canberra had a brief period of stability, but things took a turn for the worse in the March quarter as house prices started to fall even faster
The current rate of decline, which is 2.5% per quarter, is quite significant compared to the usual average of 1.5%.
To ensure you’re setting a realistic asking price, a great place to start is by looking at recent property reports which show the prices that comparable properties in your area have sold for in the past.
We also recommend asking your local real estate agents to complete a property appraisal of your property to receive a more accurate value of your home. Requesting property appraisals from multiple agents can also help ensure that your expectations are realistic in the current market.
3. Timing is Everything: Find the Right Season to Sell Your Home
Technically speaking there is no ‘perfect time’ to list your home because of the many factors that play into it. However, if you’re able to hold out for a bit, it’s possible that you might be able to achieve a stronger sale by waiting for the right season.
Determining the best month to sell can vary, and the results might be surprising to you. We recommend researching your area to see what the best time to list your home might be.
Spring Listing
Spring is often considered a great time to sell a property, as the weather is pleasant, and more people are out and about. However, it’s important to keep in mind that just because it’s a popular time to sell, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your home will be an instant hit in the market.
In the spring, there are often more properties on the market, which means that there may be more competition, thus more options for potential buyers. However, if your home is well-presented and priced appropriately, you could still experience a quick sale, with competitive offers.
Summer Listing
Summertime in Canberra typically isn’t the most ideal time to sell, due to the extreme heat and the upcoming holiday season. These factors may contribute to buyers being harder to come by and properties taking longer to sell. However, the silver-lining is the lower rate of competition during this time which may lead to higher values for your home.
Autumn Listing
Autumn is a great time to sell as people return after the summer break and start thinking about their New Year plans, which may include buying a new home. This is typically when we see a spike in prospective buyers in the market.
In addition to having more prospective buyers, the fall season has some unique advantages for selling a home. The foliage of the surrounding trees can add some extra visual appeal, and the lower angle of the sun can help brighten up properties with natural light.
Just be sure to keep an eye on falling leaves and ensure you keep your home looking its best for open homes and private inspections.
Winter Listing
While the cold season is great for a lot of family activities, these don’t necessarily include attending open homes. Due to the decrease in prospective buyer activity, the cold season isn’t the most ideal to sell your property.
However, it is still possible to achieve a successful sale during the winter, your property may just spend a little bit longer on the market, when compared to the autumn and spring seasons.
4. Fix, Clean, and Improve
In order to maximise the value of your property, you’re going to have to put in time, money, and effort to get the best results and increase the overall profit when selling your property.
Here’s what can you do set up yourself and your property for the market:
Upkeep
To prepare a house for prospective buyers, it is important to make it as attractive as possible. This includes decluttering, cleaning, and making any necessary repairs or improvements.
Don’t forget about the garden! The exterior of your property, as well as the landscaping plays just as an important part as the interior.
Declutter
Prospective buyers often want to thoroughly inspect every aspect of a house before making a decision on whether it is suitable for them. By decluttering your home, you can showcase its essential features and avoid overwhelming prospective buyers with excess items.
Instead of trying to conceal clutter in cabinets and closets, you may want to consider renting a storage unit to keep your personal belongings out of sight during the selling process. This will help prospective buyers perceive the available storage space in a more positive light, as it will appear more spacious and organized.
Clean
After decluttering your home, it’s important to give it a thorough clean to make it shine for prospective buyers. Built-up dirt and grime can be distracting and make your house less appealing. To brighten things up, scrub down walls, baseboards, windows, and fixtures, and consider steam cleaning carpets to freshen them up and remove any potential odours.
If you’re having trouble getting your home looking its best, a fresh coat of paint can often work wonders. By taking the time to thoroughly clean and freshen up your home, you can increase its appeal and make it more attractive to potential buyers.
Go the Extra Mile
We understand not everyone has the time to dedicate to repairs and maintenance, however, the more you can do to improve the appearance of your home, the more likely you are to get a good price for it in a timely manner.
So, if you are unable to complete this work yourself, we highly recommend seeking quotes for trades. Trust us, it’s going to be well worth it.
- If something is broken – repair it! This could include cupboard doors, handles, windows, shutters, lights, etc.
- Re-do aged or dull paintwork around your property
- Replace old light bulbs or feel free to add more!
- Fix your flooring
Consider the potential changes you would make if you were moving in with fresh eyes. These changes could make a huge difference in the overall profit, as prospective buyers who see a “fixer upper” will not spend big if they intend to have money left over to pay for renovations.
Watch how we did it here!
5. Let Your Property Shine: Stage It!
Consider staging your home (once it’s clean) to create an appealing and inviting atmosphere for prospective buyers, for open homes and inspections.
If you cannot hire a professional stylist, you can ask your real estate agent for their input on how to best present your home. Your real estate agent will be able to provide valuable insight into the staging based on their industry experience and how to highlights your homes best features that’ll stand out in the market.
6. Invest in High Quality Media
Having an eye-catching listing is crucial for attracting potential buyers, and professional photos can really set your property apart.
- Hiring a professional photographer, to capture a variety of hi-res photos of all angles and features of your property, will give prospective buyers a comprehensive view of what they can expect.
- If you’re on a budget, you could ask a friend with photography experience to take some professional shots of your home (or consider reaching out to a local university for students looking to gain experience).
Additionally, we highly recommend considering a tailored property video for a more dynamic visual experience for your buyers.
Our innovative approach, at Jonny Warren Properties, has achieved phenomenal results. Our goal is to create memorable property videos, to gain as much attention to a property as we can to help attract prospective buyers. This approach has helped place multiple listings on Canberra’s real estate market’s “most wanted” list.
Check our work here!
7. Work with a Great Real Estate Agent
Marketing your own property can be a great way to save some money, but in the long run accepting the help of a skilled real estate agent will make a large impact in successfully selling your property and maximising your overall profits.
Jonny Warren Properties have been named ACT Property Marketer of the Year in 2018, 2020, and 2022; and it’s not just a shiny award! We believe that every home tells a story and we want to help YOU tell your story.
The end of one chapter is just the beginning of another, for you and another family, and we can’t wait to be a part of it!
We understand that selling a property is one of life’s biggest investments and a major life event. We encourage you to join the Jonny Warren family and put your trust in us to help you sell your home and achieve your real estate goals.