Your choice of REALTOR® can and will impact how long your home sits on the market & why you shouldn’t choose a Realtor® solely based on suggested listing price & commission fee charged alone.
There’s a right buyer out there for every home. Whether it’s a penthouse condo or a starter home, your property is a good fit for someone. So how do you make sure that it sells for a price that you are happy with and doesn’t take months or longer to sell?
Answering this question isn’t as simple as a single factor like choosing the right price. It comes down to the right approach at addressing factors like presentation, price, extensive marketing, knowing where to find the right buyer plus much more.
Your choice of which Toronto & GTA Realtor® to work with to sell your house is instrumental in helping your home sell quickly and for the most money. As the point-person of the home selling process, the best Realtor® for you will have both the experience, knowledge and marketing system to get your home sold fast and for top dollar value.
Choosing The Best Toronto & GTA Real Estate Agent For You
Many people selling homes in Toronto & The GTA face the question of whether it makes sense to sell privately or with a discount company.
Studies show that only a very few actually end up selling independently. Also unfortunately the vast majority end up selling for less. Statistics show us that the vast majority of Toronto & GTA home sellers will benefit from selling with an experienced real agent. Sure, the agent takes is paid a fee, but in the end you will net more money with less stress and aggravation. Also those same studies show that properties sell faster and the extra dollar value an agent will be able to attract and negotiate for the property is well worth it.
The home-selling process is a big undertaking and be complicated. Doing it right is a full-time job, so trusting a professional with what may be your largest financial asset is a prudent decision..
Before you list your home, be sure to vet your top choices of Realtor® thoroughly. Making sure your home won’t be sitting on the market comes down to your agent’s expertise with:
- Evaluating your home’s value and setting a price
- Setting the right selling strategy to attract the right buyer
- Preparing the home for sale
- Advertising and marketing the home to qualified buyers
- Expert negotiating for the sale to get you the best price
- Closing the deal and making sure the paperwork is done properly
You can review our post about choosing the best Toronto & GTA for you to get all the details about what to look for in an agent.
The Buyers’ Psychology Regarding A House That Sits On The Market
When a house isn’t selling it can seem like it’s been sitting on the market forever. And that’s just the problem from the buyer’s point of view. What’s wrong with the property.
A house can seem stagnant and unwanted quite quickly when it goes unsold for months or even weeks. The buyers will begin to perceive the house as less valuable since others don’t want it, even if it might be a good fit for them.
The psychological principle for this perception is the same one that’s behind why people follow the crowd. It’s faster and more simple to trust what others are doing than taking the risk of finding out for yourself, especially if the risk you run could be ending up with a house that’s not right for you.
The best Toronto Realtors® will be able to avoid your home from sliding down this slippery slope of sitting on the market. In the event that your home hasn’t sold and you are beginning to worry that it will never sell, you should defer to your Realtor® to revise the selling strategy to get the home sold.
If My House Has Been Sitting On The Market Does That Mean It Is Priced Too High?
If your home has been sitting on the market and your agent is revising the home-selling strategy it doesn’t necessarily mean your home isn’t priced properly. A home could even be priced too low and still not sell.
For example, a nice house that is priced low could make potential buyers think that there is some hidden problem with the house and turn them off from buying it.
It’s not about one factor, like the price, but a whole myriad of factors together that impact why your home hasn’t sold. That’s why you need a real estate agent to make a professional analysis of each aspect of your house in order to sell it for the right price.
Should I Reduce The Selling Price Of My House If It’s Been Sitting On The Market?
That what Sellers would do if they were selling privately or even some agents may suggest a price reduction. I reality you shouldn’t necessarily reduce the price of your home just because it isn’t selling.
If you started your home selling journey with a free and accurate home evaluation from a top Toronto & GTA real estate agent the listing price you agreed to set with your agents is quite likely to attract a buyer and your Realtor® is likely to close the sale.
However, if you find yourself concerned about your home sale it’s necessary to talk with a qualified Realtor® to get a realistic answer since there is no “one size fits all” approach.
If you need a free home evaluation and don’t want to worry that your home may be sitting on the market for weeks to come as you consider selling, don’t hesitate to reach out to us with your questions or concerns. Our team has been selling homes in Toronto & The GTA for over 3 decades and we have helped thousands of sellers successfully sell their homes in that time.
How Realtors® Sell Properties Without Reducing The Listing Price
Experienced real estate agents take into account factors like the home’s condition, its location, and the market to arrive at a figure that will attract buyers but also net you money on the final sale. Remember that negotiations also typically take place before a sale closes, so the listing price is often different from the final sale price.
Frank Leo & Associates, for example, recently sold a property in Toronto for twice the asking price at $1 million over asking. You can read more about selling your property over asking in our post about how Frank Leo sold this particular house in Toronto.
Let’s assume you and your agent arrived at a good listing price that will attract buyers but also leave you satisfied with the sale price. The best Toronto & GTA real estate agents will use a dynamic marketing strategy that doesn’t depend on a single strategy to sell the home. A more one-dimensional home-selling approach that just depends on holding ineffective open houses, for example, doesn’t take into account that every home and every buyer is different.
Matching up interested buyers with your particular home requires more thought, strategy, and experience. If you did a good job of picking a real estate agent, chances are that your agent has been adapting his or her marketing strategy behind and will be able to address your concerns.
At Frank Leo & Associates we don’t depend on outdated selling tactics like open houses, instead opting for a more sophisticated Guaranteed Home Selling System which leverages the strengths of each property to find an ideal buyer.
If you’re are looking for insights about how to sell your home for top dollar in a timeframe that works for you don’t hesitate to contact us.
Reasons Your House May Be Sitting on The Market When Selling Your House In Toronto & The GTA
As mentioned above, there are countless potential reasons a home might be sitting on the market for longer than a seller would like.
Knowing what’s keeping a house from selling is what makes the best real estate agents, well, the best. A good Realtor® doesn’t just make a home appealing to buyers. He or she makes it appealing to the type of buyer which will be interested in that particular home and therefore will be willing to pay top dollar value for it.
Below you’ll find some of the most common reasons a home isn’t selling in the expected time frame. If you’re thinking of selling your home you can go over a few of these issues before you sign a listing agreement to help you gauge your agent’s plan for selling your home.
Evaluate Your Home’s Curb Appeal
You only get one shot to make a strong first impression. For most buyers, your home’s curb appeal will be that first impression whether they see it in a Toronto & GTA MLS® listing, a photograph on social media, or on a real estate website.
Buyers won’t be too inclined to peruse your home interior if they don’t like the way it looks from
the outside. All of the home preparation and upgrades you can manage won’t do much if the first impression isn’t strong.
The main elements of curb appeal include the landscaping, the accents, the siding, and of course windows and doors. One of the major aspects of curb appeal which gets overlooked is the roof. It can be a major home sale deal breaker.
Repairing or replacing an old roof can cost buyers $1,000’s of dollars. That’s a cost not many buyers will want to swallow. Any issues with the roof will turn up in the pre-sale home inspection regardless, so there’s no sense trying to get around fixing a faulty roof.
You can learn more about improving your home’s curb appeal in our post about how to increase curb appeal when selling your home in Toronto & The GTA. We cover each element of curb appeal and provide all the details about how you can improve it.
Tenants Living In The Home You’re Selling in Toronto
The reason your home isn’t selling might not be the home at all. If you have tenants living at the place they could be preventing your agent from closing the sale.
Even if they are tidy and well-mannered tenants, the mere fact that someone is living in the home can be enough to turn some buyers off. When a home is staged well for a sale it looks ready to be lived in as opposed to occupied. That distinction makes a big difference.
Buyers want to see their future lives in the home, not imagine themselves in someone else home. The place needs to be inviting without having too much personality.
We’ll cover home staging in more detail later, but you and your Realtor® should make a decision about the tenants.
While you can’t simply evict tenants on a whim when you want to sell your home there are several options available to you – especially if you are willing to negotiate with the tenants. Having a tenant-free property isn’t only easier to sell for your Realtor® but it allows to show much better than a typical tenant living in the property. It simply gives your agent a blank canvas to implement their strategy.
Home Staging Needs To Be Immaculate
Home presentation is crucial. Just like curb appeal, the appearance of the home’s interior makes a strong impression that is tough to shake if it’s not positive.
If you are selling with a Toronto & GTA real estate agent they should guide you in how to create the best first impression. The primary elements of staging to keep in mind are.
- Interior design
- Curb appeal
- Eliminate clutter
- Remove personal items
- Leveraging a home’s best features
- Ensure floors, walls, & windows are sparkling
Every element of home preparation is important because all elements work together in synergy to make your home look its best.
The basic idea behind home staging is to let the buyer’s imagination run wild when they see the place. It should look inviting, spacious and clean.
Each of these topics could have an article of its own to cover comprehensively, but if you’re interested in learning more you can read our post about how home staging can help you avoid costly mistakes when selling your home in Toronto & The GTA.
Following Your Real Estate Agent’s Recommendations
When faced with the choice between saving money bringing the home up to shape and selling fast, most Toronto & GTA home sellers are likely to spend bit of money.
Your real estate agent might recommend that you do a few things to the home after the home evaluation.
These items can range from major, like a new roof or flooring, to more minor changes like a different colour for the walls or new carpeting.
Higher end finishes and materials make a considerable difference when you put your home on the market, especially if you are selling your home in an area with high competition. If buyers see another comparable home in the area that they’re also interested in, a small difference like granite counters or hardwood flooring could be all they need to push them into a buying decision.
If you’ve followed your real estate agents advice and made the upgrades, that decision could work in your favour.
It can be hard to justify upgrade expenses, especially since you won’t around to enjoy the upgrades, but if you have a good real estate agent that can get you top dollar value for the home you will be able to recuperate your costs and even make a profit.
There’s no definitive answer regarding which upgrades to invest in. It depends on the conditions of the house, the market in which you’re selling , and the buyers you are trying to attract. Generally speaking though, one major upgrade won’t make up for many small details which are unattractive.
Buyers can feel exasperated if there are too many small elements they don’t like but one larger upgrade can seem more manageable.
Open Houses Or Showings Can’t Be Ignored
Inviting buyers to visit the home can get tiresome, especially if there are many coming to see the home. However, instead of seeing it as a bother, consider it a positive indicator of all the interest your home is generating.
Follow your real estate agent’s advice when it comes to showings and be as accommodating as you can. You can’t reasonably expect buyers to get serious about buying a home when most of what they have to go off is second-hand information and photographs or video tours.
Our recommendation for putting up with showings if they are inconvenient for you is avoiding open houses altogether. Showing the home to buyers who have expressed interest is one thing, but there’s no need to hold public open houses.
At Frank Leo & Associates we never conduct open houses. Over nearly 30 years of selling homes in Toronto & The GTA, we have found that they are simply less effective when it comes to getting homes sold. Not doing open houses hasn’t stopped us from becoming the #1 RE/MAX Team in Canada led by the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent in the World.
The best Toronto & GTA real estate agents will be able to sell your home for top dollar even without the use of open houses.
Selling A Home Comes Down To Having The Best Toronto & GTA Real Estate Agent Possible
For all of the trouble of getting stressed out, expending energy selling your home, or wondering if it will sit on the market forever it may be worthwhile to get help from a professional real estate agent in Toronto & The GTA.
A professional team like Frank Leo’s have the resources, experience, and methodology to effectively market your home and find a qualified buyer.
You can always count on us to answer your real estate questions or provide you with a no-obligation free home evaluation. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you’re thinking of selling your home in Toronto or The GTA and want to avoid the stress of your home sitting on the market.