I wouldn’t be surprised if you read the title of this blog post and laughed to yourself. After all, the Western Colorado real estate market is thriving. Sales prices have increased by 31.9% year over year. Is selling your house for a profit even a concern for sellers in this market?
The answer is yes! The amount of traffic your listing gets depends on several factors, including the location, the general appeal to prospective buyers, the price, the type of property, and how well your broker markets it. Many people are scouring the local Western Colorado real estate market for a 2-bedroom, in-town, residential house. However, your broker is going to have to work harder on the marketing front to find a buyer for a niche property, such as a 300-acre farm, a luxury mountain cabin, or an off-grid escape.
Furthermore, even though it is a seller’s market doesn’t mean that you don’t still want to secure the best possible price for your property, even if it is a popular property type. Maybe your house in Delta County will sell for $300,000 with no marketing effort. Is that enough for you? What if you could get multiple offers and sell it for $325,000 if your broker spent time on the listing presentation and a national marketing strategy?
What if there were some easy things you could do to make that higher price a reality? If you’re wondering what to do before selling your house in Delta County, this blog post is for you. Here are three things that I, as your Western Colorado real estate broker, encourage you to do before selling your home to maximize the potential sale price.
1. Get the Proper Inspections Beforehand
Paying a few hundred dollars for a home inspection before you list your home for sale could save you thousands of dollars in repair costs if the buyer’s home inspection reveals a major home system default. Normally, buyers submit an offer on your property contingent upon the results of the home inspection. If the inspection reveals a problem, the buyers can either back out of the transaction or request that you fix it.
However, if you’re looking for a quick and seamless sale, relying on the buyers’ home inspection isn’t always the answer. Getting a home inspection first will allow you to fix problems proactively or price your house more appropriately given the necessary repairs.
2. Don’t Overprice Your Property
You’ve heard it from your family members, friends, and the internet – homes are flying off the market for way over the asking price. While this is true for many homes, it really depends on your local real estate market and the type of home you’re selling. For example, a residential home in Denver, Colorado is going to sell a lot faster and receive more offers than a luxury mountain home on acreage in Delta County.
Overpricing your property in a seller’s market is likely the biggest “what not to do when selling your home” red flag your broker should warn you about. Just because your neighbor’s home sold for $50,000 over the asking price does not mean you can take that as an invitation to price your home $50,000 over its value.
Especially in the Western Colorado real estate market, overpricing your home is detrimental to selling it for the most money possible. According to data from Centralized Showing Service, you must price your home within 1-3% of the actual market value to get a healthy amount of showings and offers. If your home gets showings and no offers, it is likely priced 5% too high. If your home isn’t even getting showings, it may be priced up to 9% too high.
3. Use a Real Estate Broker
Many sellers fall into the false logic trap that listing their property for sale by owner (FSBO) and eliminating commission fees will result in them pocketing more money. However, when you dive into the supposed logic of that statement, you start finding a lot of gaps.
Being a real estate broker in Western Colorado is my full-time job. I have a specialized license, complete hours of continuing education every year, study the market relentlessly, and dedicate much of my time to marketing my real estate services and my listings. That dedication is why my listings sell, and it’s also why I charge a commission.
Listing your property FSBO is statistically proven to net a lower amount of money than listing with a real estate broker, so much so that the final result is still lower even after your broker takes a commission. According to Real Estate Witch data, FSBO homes sell for an average of 15.75% less than agent-listed homes on the MLS.
What Not To Do When Selling Your Home
The current Western Colorado Real Estate market offers a huge advantage to sellers, but the market strength alone is not enough to guarantee selling your house for a profit. Don’t assume that the real estate market is here to do the hard work for you. That’s like someone who’s 6’5” saying they can join the NBA with no practice just because they can dunk a basketball. You have one thing working in your favor: the market. Let your real estate broker bring everything else to the table to get you more offers and a better price.
