July 19, 2023 | Selling
Are You Truly Maximizing Your Home Sale?
Excuse me, is this $50,000 on the table yours?
In a market where there are many powerful tools available to maximize the sale of a home, many Toronto sellers unknowingly leave money on the table. One of the biggest mistakes we see is choosing a realtor based solely on the lowest commission, rather than evaluating the overall value a skilled agent can bring to the sale.
The reality is that a discount agent often won’t invest in the same level of preparation, staging, photography, and marketing required to attract the strongest pool of buyers. Your home will likely still sell, but without the right strategy and exposure, it may sell for far less than it could have in the right hands.
When interviewing potential realtors, the most important question shouldn’t be, “How much commission will I pay?”Instead, it should be “How much more money could I make by hiring the right agent?” A seasoned full-service real estate team brings significantly more value to the table, from strategic marketing and professional presentation to important home preparation and home staging that helps your property stand out in the market. When these elements are executed well, they can dramatically influence buyer perception and ultimately drive stronger offers.
This becomes even more important in today’s slower Toronto real estate market. While quality homes are still selling—many with multiple offers and excellent results—success increasingly depends on how well a property is presented, positioned and marketed. For sellers, the difference between an average approach and a strategic one can mean leaving a significant amount of money on the table.
Wondering what your home might be worth in today’s market? Get a property evaluation right here and discover how to maximize your home sale.
1) Home Preparation
Sounds simple enough, declutter, clean and you’re set. Not true! Knowing the value of minor home updates you can do before you list your house is key. These updates range from small items like replacing faucets, door handles and painting, to larger scale upgrades such as kitchen and bathroom refreshers. These choices are definitely not all black and white and making a strategic plan with an experienced realtor could make you tens of thousands of dollars more on the sale.
We have seen $6000 home prep investments resulting in over $30,000 in returns. The agent and buyer feedback we receive during the listing period allows us to track the approximate ROI on these upgrades. We’ve seen it first hand, and we know it works. These days buyers are savvy and they expect a quality experience that will wow them. Does your home have the fall in love factor to keep buyers captivated? Will your home’s curb appeal leave a lasting and memorable impression? Invest the time to quality updates and you will be see a hefty return on your investment.
For more information on home preparation and the overall selling process read:
2) Impactful & Strategic Home Staging
Unless you are a professional home decorator or home stager, it’s not ideal to stage your own home for sale. Using a professional and trendy home stager (no more white couches or glass tables please!) will attract the right type of buyer to your home. A buyer that will instantly fall in love and aggressively compete and pay a high price for your house.
At Nested, as part of our tailored selling strategy, we carefully analyze your unique property to figure out the level of staging that will earn the greatest return. We invest the time to ensure each and every Nested listing is always on-trend and designed with intention. Nested staging is proven to net you more money for the same house.
Having in-depth knowledge of the type of buyers in that neighbourhood will inform the staging strategy. This will result in more dollars to your bottom line. Meaningful home staging is the difference between these two statements: “Sold for over-asking, in record time” and “Unsold, on the market for weeks.”
For more information on home staging read: Top 5 Staging Tips To Sell Your Home For More Money
3) Online Presence & Social Media
In a world where 81% of buyers do their research online before making a big purchase, mediocre online marketing will ultimately cost you money. Before a potential buyer even considers your home, they will have looked at many other listings online. Online marketing starts with staging and home prep, followed by professional photography and meaningful lifestyle copywriting. This comes together in a carefully curated property website, designed to attract the right buyers. How do we get them there? With a quality social media strategy, including paid promotion across a variety of platforms.
These marketing pieces expose your listing to the right buyers who see value in pursuing your home. They fall in love online and take the next steps to see the house in person. Here they are inevitably wowed by the professional staging mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, MLS alone simply does not compare.
To learn more about our bespoke marketing approach click here.
4) Listing Strategy & Timing
Timing the market perfectly is difficult, but working with an agent who keeps a pulse on market fluctuations can make it seem easy. In Toronto there are typically two real estate seasons in any given year, which are considered the optimal times to sell homes. The Spring real estate season is the longest as it actually starts in February and lasts until end of June. For buyers this is a great season to shop for homes as there is more inventory. However, for a seller this means competition, especially in a slightly cooler market like we are experiencing now. We often see record breaking sales early in February and March when there are less homes on the market and refreshed homes buyers eagerly wanting to buy a home before summer.
The Fall real estate season is the second optimal time to sell a home. This season is shorter but gives many home seller the prep time they need during the summer months to tackle any home updates and exterior fixes.
Get answers to your home-selling questions with these blogs next:
- Is it Possible to Time the Market?
- Negotiation: Why You Need an Owl Not a Pit Bull
- How Long Does it Take to Sell a House in Toronto
5) Pricing Your Home To Sell
The final piece of the puzzle that will tie all of these elements together. In all honestly, the pricing strategy you and your realtor choose can be a success or a complete failure. So how do you know what to price your home. Firstly, trust your realtor and evaluate the comparable sales together to ensure you are on the same page. Pricing your home is an important skill your realtor needs to be well educated on and hiring a neighbourhood realtor will allow you to tap into insight that may otherwise be missed by an agent who’s not in tune with the local market.
When pricing a home, you want to ensure you are following the lead of other listings in the area. Consistency is important as buyers are most likely viewing multiple homes per week. For example, if your neighbourhood is typically seeing homes priced below market value to generate multiple offers, pricing too high can result in less interest as active buyers who have been competing for home may think your house is overpriced or that the seller’s expectations are unrealistic. There are many nuances when in comes to pricing homes in Toronto and it’s important to work with a realtor who you trust and defer to their expertise.
Curious about what your home is worth? Get a property evaluation right here.
There are so many moving parts to listing and selling a home, having a trusted and experienced realtor to guide you through the process is key.
A knowledgeable realtor will keep you informed and in the loop. A quality realtor will also guide you through this entire process, ensuring you are maximizing the sale of your home. After all, your home is your biggest investment, when it comes time to sell, you should see a return on all your hard work.
Do you have more questions about selling your home for top dollar? Reach out to us at 416.909.1602 or email hello@getnested.ca and we’d be happy to help!
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