There are all kinds of advice and tips from lots of “experts” about how to sell your house and sell it fast. Sometimes the advice sounds good, and sometimes it seems pretty bizarre. But when you distill all that advice down to its basic essence, you get pretty much the same thing across the board (with a few new twists thrown in). The basic tactics and strategies haven’t changed all that much over the years. So here are 10 proven tips for selling your house in Chicago.
1. Get the Price Right
This tip for selling your house in [market)-city] is one you will see everywhere because it is critically important. Price too low, and you’ll lose money and cause many buyers to think something is wrong with the house. Price too high, and your house will languish on the market, again causing buyers to think something is wrong. So get the pricing right before you list it.
2. Don’t Forget Millennials
There’s a new wave of house buyers out there with pretty specific needs and wants. Millennials are the 20-30 age group and are estimated, by the end of 2018, to make up 43% of home buyers taking out a mortgage. They are, in fact, the largest purchasing group nationwide. But you need to keep in mind that while they are opting for the suburbs, they’re more often looking for smaller homes that meet but don’t exceed their needs.
3. Work on Curb Appeal
You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, so get it right. Improving the curb appeal will make selling your house in Chicago noticeably easier. When buyers pull up to your house, the first thing they see is your yard the house’s exterior. Take the time, then, to do a little cleanup and landscaping, painting and repair.
4. Consider Smart Home Features
These smart home features are now a big draw when it comes to selling your house in Chicago. Many buyers already have the smart home gadgets they want to install, so at least make sure your system is broadly compatible.
5. Go for a Pre-inspection
Many buyers now are seeking move-in ready, turnkey homes. A pre-inspection will assure them that’s just what they’re getting. People’s lives are getting increasingly busier, so whatever you can do to make buying your home easier will make it more attractive to buyers.
6. Make It Look Its Best
Sometimes, selling your house in Chicago is no easy task, so don’t make it any harder by neglecting your home’s appearance. This has several broad aspects: de-cluttering, cleaning, and staging. The goal is to make your home as appealing and inviting as possible in order to strike the right emotional chords in buyers. A professional staging company can work wonders with your home.
7. Erase Your Personality
Similarly, to make selling your house in Chicago even easier, be sure to remove anything and everything that imprints your personality on it. You know, like putting away all those weird knick-knacks and taking down family photos. You want buyers to be able to envision your house as their home.
8. Make Minor Upgrades
Minor upgrades will make your house far more attractive to buyers, and it doesn’t have to cost a ton of money. The kitchen and the bathroom will be the most important areas here. So you could, for instance, install new countertops in the kitchen or new fixtures in the bathroom.
9. Sweeten the Deal
Reciprocity works. So be sure to sweeten the deal with extras and add-ons. A buyer will be more likely to make an offer if he thinks he’s getting something out of the deal as well.
10. Market Aggressively
Sure, your agent will market your house, but you should too. You need all the exposure you can get for selling your house in Chicago at the price you want. Craigslist, for-sale signs, flyers, online venues, virtual tours – they all work to some degree, so don’t neglect any of them.
Selling your house in Chicago doesn’t have to be an impossibly difficult task if you just keep in mind and implement these tips. Still, there’s more you can do to sell your house at a good price.