If you’ve got a “New Year, New Home” attitude, listen up. Selling a house in 2020 comes with some specific advantages and challenges. Between the current mortgage rates, most likely buyers, and popular amenities, you may need to adjust your strategy from the last time you sold a property. If you’re selling your first home, you may want to ignore your parents’ well-intentioned but ultimately outdated advice. Here are seven tips for selling your home in 2020.
Tips for Selling Your Home in 2020
2020 is ushering in new opportunities for selling your property. And the home buyer profile is skewing younger and more modern than even five years ago. If you want to sell a home quickly in 2020, here’s what to know.
1. Stop Upgrading with Expensive Add-Ons
According to Realtor.com, Millennials will account for half of all home buyers by mid-year 2020. And that means a whole lot of home buyers who are looking for their very first property. Bearing in mind that your property may move faster if you can market it as the ideal starter home, you may want to rethink your plans to great a gourmet kitchen or spectacular backyard spa. Expensive add-ons and upgrades could actually make it harder to find a buyer when the market is full of newly 30-somethings just looking to get their foot in the real estate game.
2. Market Home Perks Over Size
Younger home buyers aren’t as keen on suburban mansions (or even large single family homes) as preceding generations have been. As Business Insider points out, homes with square footage between 2,900 and 4,000 receive less views on Realtor.com and sell more slowly than smaller homes. Now, while you can’t change the size of your property, you can change what you highlight in your listing. Spend more time talking about the nearby school district, neighborhood perks you can walk to, and other amenities than you do bragging about home size.
3. Make Minor Repairs
A whopping 63% of Millennials who buy a home say they have regrets related to unexpected maintenance costs. You may lure in more buyers in 2020 by advertising a new garbage disposal and maintained HVAC. You don’t have to spend a fortune, but take care of minor repairs that will put a new buyer’s mind at ease. No one wants to move in and have to make immediate repairs — not when they had to scrape together a down payment.
4. Reconsider Using an Agent
With so many digital channels for selling a home in 2020, a traditional real estate agent may not be necessary anymore. You can list your home as FSBO on sites like Zillow, or work with an all-cash buyer like California Family Homebuyers without enlisting the help of an agent. You won’t have to pay out any commission and you could sell faster in some cases. For instance, when California Family Homebuyers purchases a property, we can close as fast as seven days in some cases.
5. Get Your Home Ready for Sale in Q1
At the start of 2020, mortgage interest rates are hovering around 3.7%, and expected to stay there — for now. Still, things can always change with the Fed’s interest rate hikes or cuts. Given that interest rates are finally at an appealing place after several years of 4%+ rates, you may want to list your property in the spring to ensure your potential buyers can take advantage of lower rates and be more likely to get approved for financing.
6. Respond Quickly to Offers
On the one hand, low interest rates and more buyers than inventory make 2020 a seller’s market. On the other hand, younger buyers know exactly what they want and they won’t play games. Accept a good offer right away.
7. Revamp Your Online Marketing
Finally, in 2020, make sure you are taking advantage of every modern way of selling a home. That means including not just photos in your home listing. You also need videos, and VR tours if you can swing it. Buyers want to know about things like their access to reliable wi-fi in your area so they can stream their favorite shows and whether or not Amazon trucks deliver there.
Ready to list and sell your home in 2020? Contact California Family Homebuyers today! We purchase all sorts of properties in Sacramento and you can choose the closing date. Make 2020 the year you move out and get a fresh start!