Tips on selling a home

5 Questions About Selling That You’re Afraid to Ask

No matter what the question is about – selling your home or the knock in your car’s engine – what you’re really afraid of is the answer.

Following our recent post on questions that home buyers might be afraid to ask, we thought we’d do the same for home sellers.

With the recent record home prices in the GTA, many have called it a “sellers’’ real estate market. But if that was the case, you’d think more people would be willing to sell! One of the reasons for the hot real estate market is the relative lack of homes for sale. On more than one occasion, the Toronto Real Estate Board has cited the fact that the rate of growth of new listings is lower than the rate of sales as a reason for the tight market conditions.

Why aren’t more homeowners ready to put their houses on the market, especially considering the healthy prices? While each homeowner may have his or her own reasons, we hear a number of repeated questions from homeowners who are thinking of selling.

1. What’s the Market Like Right Now?

When selling anything, we all want to get as much money as we can. The headlines usually refer to average real estate statistics across an entire city or region, but that might not accurately represent what’s happening in the market in your area. Each community and neighbourhood has its own characteristics that can affect the local market. If you want to know what the market is like in your particular area, even on your street, you should talk to a Realtor with experience in the area.

2. How Long Will it Take to Sell My House?

The answer to this question is one of the most important, yet one of the most difficult to give. Sellers often need to time the sale of their home to coincide with the purchase of a new one. However, the number of days the home remains on the market can depend on its location, condition, and asking price, among many other factors. Again, finding a Realtor who knows your home and has the right marketing strategies is the best way to get your home sold sooner than later.

3. What Do I Need to do to My House Before Selling It?

Worrying about repair costs and whether or not a fix-up is going to increase your value can be stressful. There’s a ton of misinformation out there so we’d like to help clear the air. First, if there are any obvious repair issues, like a water leak, you should take care of it before going on the market. As for cosmetic improvements, there’s no use spending $100 to get $100 back in increased value. We are here to advise on what’s worth (and not worth!) doing when it comes to renovations. Lastly, it always pays to do what you can to increase the curb appeal of your home.

4. What’s my Home Worth?

Even if you’re not thinking of selling, most Homeowners like to at least have an idea of the value of their home. They listen intently as neighbours discuss the recent selling prices on the street. However, even if a similar home sold for a certain price, it doesn’t mean that your home will sell for the same price. There are many factors that affect price including home preparation, timing, and of course negotiation.

5. Do I Need to Stage My House?

Many Homeowners think that they don’t need to do anything to their home to sell it. There are statistics that show staged homes sell over 80% faster, and for 20% more, than un-staged homes. Buyers react far more favourably to a home they can see themselves living in, which is the real purpose of staging.

The Stephen Tar Team has been helping home sellers and buyers get the best deal in Markham, Unionville and across York Region for over 35 years. If you want straight answers to any real estate questions, please give us a call 905-475-2100.