6 Tips to Get Your Stale NJ Real Estate Listing Sold

Advice from top NJ real estate agents

 

In the NJ real estate market of today, most listings are taking much longer to sell on average. While it is common knowledge that price is one of the main factors contributing to the sale of a home, there are other aspects of a sale that can drastically increase salability of your listing. Below are some tips to get your home sold that if it has been on the market for an extended period of time.

Have Your Home Professionally Staged

Home staging goes beyond the basic cleaning and de-cluttering of your home. The first step in doing so requires locating each room’s focal point and using furniture placement to highlight that. Examples of home staging can be moving a sofa that might be blocking the view of a fireplace or arranging items on shelves and bookcases to draw attention to predetermined areas. More helpful tips are: adjusting the temperature in your home to a general comfort level, adjusting window treatments and turning off/on lights to create mood, putting vases of fresh flowers on tables and making sure the home smells fresh and airy or creating aromas by lighting candles or baking cookies.

Offer Seller and Buyer Incentives or Alternative Financing Options

Incentives can make a significant difference for buyers who might need a bit of help finding the down payment to buy an NJ real estate property. Similar to having a home inspection performed, incentives offered to potential buyers can also be deal makers or breakers in certain situations. These can be in the form of fixtures or appliances that can be included at the time the property is sold, such as appliances. Another incentive you can offer is to cover all or part of the closing costs including items such as a credit report, title insurance, loan appraisal, and property inspections. Other alternatives could include pre paying taxes, homeowners dues and insurance.

Give Your NJ Real Estate Home Full Exposure

We are often surprised by the number of homes with undisclosed property addresses on the internet. It is no secret that more and more homebuyers are starting their home search on the internet, so make sure they can easily find yours. Two popular search filters that prospective homebuyers are using on sites such as TeamChrisWalsh.com and Realtor.com are filters for listings with recent price reductions as well as upcoming open houses. Update your information often on popular NJ real estate search sites and be sure to list your open house times to get the maximum exposure for your listing.

Make Your Home Accessible

Prospective buyers like to be able to view a home when it is convenient for them, not when it is necessarily convenient for the seller. Because of this, most NJ real estate agents suggest using a lockbox for the property when it is for sale in the NJ MLS to maximize expediency for everyone involved. If a homeowner has listed his or her home by owner in the NJ MLS, they would need to be available at any given moment to show the home. Part of a realtor’s job includes accommodating showings when the owner is unavailable.

Refresh Your Photos

The homebuyer of today spends a significant amount of time online researching NJ real estate properties. As the listing for your home becomes stale, so do the property photos. Consider retaking the photos, especially after the change of seasons, or consider revising the order in which your photos appear online to give it a fresh appearance for web browsing buyers. Many NJ real estate agents start their photos with an exterior picture of the front of the home when in fact the photo of the home’s best attribute, such as an upgraded kitchen or beautiful backyard, should be the first photo buyers see.

Get Creative With Marketing

In addition to stale photos, your marketing description may be putting prospective buyers to sleep. Add some interest to your headlines and descriptions to draw the attention of homebuyers. Your marketing text needs to tell a story that appeals to the people most likely to buy your listing. Simply freshening it up often is a great way to capture more attention to your listing.

 

The real estate market is changing rapidly and expanding into new avenues almost daily. Sometimes it can be very difficult to find the answers you need on a specific topic or issue. In times like these, you need a real estate professional who will provide valuable information and trustworthy advice. For more information on NJ real estate, call us today or click here to be connected with one of our top real estate specialists.