Across the country, house prices as a whole are remaining strong or continue to rise. This is even though many areas are seeing a significant drop in demand.
Illinois for instance saw house prices in June increase by 6.2% compared to the same time in 2021. However, June’s home sales fell by 15.4% against last year’s figures with around 3,070 fewer completions.
This isn’t good news for buyers or sellers and with mortgage rates rising too the housing market is looking a little tricky this year.
If you are selling your home, what can you do to try and get a quicker sale?
Simple advice for selling a home quickly
If your main focus is on selling your home in as little time as possible, then the following advice may help. Note, these tips are not based on helping you to maximize proceeds from a house sale, but simply to speed things up.
If you wish to realize close to the full value of your home then you may have to spend some time on the market. Currently, the country’s average selling time is 73 days. This equates to 38 days on the market with another 35 days to close.
If you want to shorten the time a house sale takes, carry on reading.
Don’t waste time and money on renovations and repairs
This is the opposite of what you would normally expect to hear from a realtor. However, you can spend thousands on remodeling only to still linger on the housing market. You may also not see any substantial return on your outlay either.
The alternative to renovating and updating a home is to sell it in its current condition. Selling your home as is will typically mean taking a hit on the price, but you can offset this by using a home investor.
Realtors help market homes professionally and will strive to achieve the best price. These brokers work on commissions and you will lose a chunk of your proceeds to them for their work. This can amount to up to 6% of the final price. In the case of a $300,000 home that would be $18,000.
If you sold your home to a cash buyer, you can offset this commission against the reduced offer you will receive. Clicking on IBuyIL.com shows that no closing costs are payable to this cash buyer either. Selling this way can be completed within just 7 days.
Make the listing price attractive
If you wish to sell by a realtor or another route, then consider going below the current market value. By making an attractive sale price you will pique buyers’ interest.
The more buyers that are interested in your property, the better chance you have of receiving an offer and selling quickly.
Use varied marketing channels
There are lots of marketing strategies used by realtors today compared to the past. Digital marketing is a vital part of the house selling process now, and you can utilize these tactics too.
Social media and the internet are easy and cost-effective ways to reach a broader audience. Alternatively, you could use the internet to sell your home through a property auction. Typical selling times from these online auctions are quicker than by realtors, but you will still need to close on the sale.
Sweeten the deal with incentives
Making concessions can help attract buyers, especially first-timers. It is getting harder to get onto the property ladder, and with down payments and rising mortgage rates along with record house prices, any help is welcome.
You could agree to pay for anything that is concerning the buyer, within reason of course. Or, you could offer to cover their closing costs.
Typically, a buyer’s closing costs could be between 2% and 6% of the selling price, but the average is around 3%. If you are willing to swallow these costs you could sell your home much faster than your rivals.
Don’t sell during winter, at least not through a realtor
It’s well known that there are better times of the year for house sales than others. If you are intent on selling through a realtor then try to avoid the winter months. There are some great real estate marketing tactics but even the best ones can’t speed up a sale at Christmas.
A home investor however is going to be far less interested in what season it is than a typical buyer. They won’t be planning to move into the property so they will suffer no upheaval and they won’t be involved in a chain.
Summary
Making concessions is one of the best ways to attract first-time buyers, and can help speed up your sale. Knowing when to sell is also helpful, but if you have to wait until the right moment you will be drawing out the time it takes to sell.
You may be thinking: What if I sell my house for cash in Kansas City, would it speed up the process of selling my house?
A cash buyer may be the best option if speed is the main objective and not a high return. Dropping the price is the easiest way to attract more buyers, but approaching a property investor removes the need for marketing completely.