You will hear everywhere that the Austin’s market is hot. It is a Seller’s market. My Dad’s Uncle’s Neighbor’s Yard Guy’s Brother sold his junk of a house in two days and got a quarter-million over asking.
Most of that might just be true. The Austin market is very busy. Cash is very much King and home can move quickly BUT.
But, the house has to deliver. The exact floor plan of your home sold two weeks ago and they had three offers in two days but your house is sitting….Why?
Reason 1: Warm and Fuzzy – The house has to deliver a warm and fuzzy feeling as soon as a potential buyer walks in. If it does, the buyer will do anything in their power to get it. If it doesn’t, they will start to scrutinize it. When that happens, that buyer is gone. All of the sudden that hand print on the wall can’t be wiped off, and the whole house needs to be painted. Now that pink spot in the corner where the kool-aid man came busting in means the whole house needs brand new flooring.
Reason 2: Your builder options aren’t as important as you think. – As nice as a builder’s sales rep is, they are in the business to make money for the builder. The builder will have their base floor plan and a slew of options of which to upsell. That $10K bay window, the $5k front porch, or the $150 pocket lights just do not carry much weight when it comes to your homes valuation. In the end, you and your neighbors all bought the same floor plan and that is how it is going to be valuated against one another. While it will differentiate your same floor plan from your neighbors, there isn’t a valuation increase. When going into new construction, do not upgrade based on what you think will resell. Upgrade to your personal preference and don’t expect much return.
Reason 3: Accessibility – We all live busy lives and moving out before selling is often not an option but remember this. If a potential buyer has a hard time setting up access to a particular home or there are pieces of the property they can’t access then they cannot picture themselves living there. We all have pets and they are all wonderful in their own special way but if a potential buyer can’t stand on a back patio, close their eyes, and picture themselves there because the animals everywhere trying to rip their head off, that is a problem.
Reason 4: Price – Heard often, “Hey, we heard joe bubblegum from down the street sold his house for more than you are suggesting. Why can’t we list for that?” The reality is that you can but don’t expect to sell. This market is crazy hot but it is also very smart. We all have access to the same data and if you over-price because you heard the market is hot, don’t expect your house to sell quickly. In general, you are better offer listing for 95% of market price then 105%.
Happy Selling!