Hello All,

I have had a whirlwind 24 hrs and thought I'd share. I was contacted a few months ago by some folks thinking of selling. They have a beautiful home in a great neighborhood and have kept it in relatively good shape. We met and had a conversation about price and condition. The end result was a hard pill for them to swallow as I strongly recommended some fairly significant renovations. You see, the neighborhood could support a price of $425,000 however to compete at that price point buyers in this market expect certain things: granite or solid surface countertops, newer appliances, neutral fresh paint, and in many instances hardwood flooring (at least through the living areas). The alternative was not only a much lower price (likely in the $385,000 range) but a longer time on the market. After a few months of stripping wallpaper, installing counters and laying tile in the master bath I received another call - the sellers weren't sure about spending the $5000 to put down hardwood floors in the main areas of the house. I understood. We decided it was time to take a tour of the competition. After previewing 4 homes in both the higher and lower price ranges, they decided the floors were a good investment.

After 2.5 months, we were 2 weeks and some hardwood floors away from being ready to list. In order to create anticipation, we put a "Coming Soon!" sign in front of the house and the calls started coming in. We explained the situation and held off showings until the floors were complete. The home went live on the market on Friday. 

By Monday morning we had 5 showings and 2 offers. These weren't just good offers these were VERY good offers. I was stunned. The sellers were thrilled. At the end of the evening they signed a contract for $435,000 -- $10,000 OVER list price. Closing is set for 30 days.

A few lessons that I am taking away from this experience:

- Pricing at a competitive bracket is a must - the sellers could have pushed the price up because of the upgrades but instead we talked about how the upgrades were really simply meeting buyer expectations at that price point. Better to use them to create a sense of urgency in this market then try to squeeze an extra $5k and miss the bracket of buyers.

- Condition is crucial - a house must be the prettiest around regardless of price. Neutral, neutral, neutral! Did I say neutral? This means, NO wallpaper, NO funky colors, NO "unique" decor.

- Patience is a virtue - don't put it out there for buyers to see until it is ready. You wouldn't host a dinner party for friends  with your house dirty so for goodness sakes make that baby sparkle for prospective buyers!

- Marketing is key - Initial marketing, or as I call it the launch is important.  The coming soon sign helped create anticipation. I had realtors calling me a week before it was ready to be shown. We had the maximum number of pictures on the MLS, a virtual tour was created so prospects could see all of the amenities and we notified every member of the realtor community -- and all of this happened on Friday. Needless to say, we were well positioned for the weekend.

I hope this helps dispell any myth that multiple offers don't or can't happen in today's market! YES they can!

Happy Selling!

Kim Rivers

kim@ringtherivers.com