It’s no secret that homes almost everywhere in Australia, whether on the coast or inland, have been realising astounding leaps in value in recent times. In this article we cover tips to get the best price on your home…
Newspaper headlines such as, ‘Sydney house prices predicted to rise $102k in 2022.’ and ‘Sydney exodus drives up regional house prices.’ are common place.
You can’t move your property to a more desirable location, or increase its yard size or magically provide better schools in your area. Adding bathrooms, pools, heating and air conditioning and extensions are possible but the expense and effort required are usually counter productive.
But it is easy for you to realise an even higher price if you understand and appreciate where buyer’s heads and even more importantly hearts are at when they are looking for the perfect home.
“In a buyer’s mind untidy and unclean suggests a home that has not been looked after and could mean expensive repairs.” (bricksandagent.com)
“Nothing will turn off a home buyer faster than showing a house with kitchen counters where new life is evolving.” (bankrate.com)
“You can’t really overdo cleaning when it comes to selling, (a home). Top of buyer’s turn off lists are smells.” (realestate.com)
It appears obvious but is so often overlooked. There can be a big difference between what the seller and/or agent thinks is clean and what a potential buyer thinks is clean.
As realestate.com.au pointed out in 2012,”Overall, women are a growing force in buying, selling and investment with females making up 60% of those buying and selling and males 40%.”
When it comes to ‘clean’, women are predominantly the most discerning.
All too often sellers and or agents attend to the big ticker items such as painting, decluttering and landscaping but fail when it comes to the detail. Which as we all know, is where the devil lurks. A crusty conglomeration located in the rear corner of a dishwasher can often be a deal breaker.
For most, buying a home is the biggest and most important financial decision. Not surprisingly they are under pressure to not make the wrong decision, (as opposed to making the right decision.) So anything you can do to put their mind/s at rest is valuable. home-truths.co.uk says, “Music can be a very powerful sales tool.” Retailers, hotels, restaurants and bars use well researched and targeted music as a matter of course to attract customers and optimise spending. You can do the same when selling your home. It’s important to think about the profile of your potential market and what might appeal to them. What works for a sprawling suburban family home or country retreat is most unlikely to be appropriate for a high rise, glass walled high rise city apartment. Enya playing imperceptibly in the background through hidden speakers rather than Megadeth set at volume 11 is more likely to create the desired effect.
Asked what motivated them to buy a particular property the proud new owners reiterated the usual motivating factors of price, location and functionality. Then they paused and smiled and somewhat sheepishly said there was something else about the home they instinctively like but could not put their finger on what it was. We suspect it may have been the dulcet tones of Bruno Mars discreetly emanating from tiny recessed speakers in the ceilings throughout the property that did the trick.
Scents make sense. Discreet fragrances, wisely chosen can add to the desirably of almost any property. But they have to be the right ones. It’s not one size fits all and sometimes the first scents that spring to mind can actually be detrimental to a sale. Andrew O’Keefe, co-founder of Scent Australia says,”From the research we’ve been shown the aromas of freshly baked bread and brewed coffee actually put buyers off. Simple and fresh scents are more effective selling tools.”
As with music it has to be the right selection to appeal to your target market. Again Andrew O’Keefe of Scent Australia advises urban professionals, “… go for something exciting, such as a kiwi, lychee and melon mix with a watery, floral heart.” Suburban families? “A homely fragrance such as white tea and ginger flowers.” And coastal retirees? “Something oceanic and sophisticated, such as zesty citrus with ozone and black paper.” Now why didn’t we think that?
It doesn’t take a lot of money to appropriately fragrance, musically enhance and spotlessly present your home. It’s about careful thought and caring enough to appreciate your home form a potential buyer’s perspective.
If asked, most home buyers give extremely rational answers as to why they purchased a particular property. But as nytimes.com states, “People generally don’t select a house …. they fall in love with it.
