Price, presentation, promotion: what sellers need to know this fall

With all the ups and downs we’ve been seeing in the market lately, how can you sell your home quickly and for a price you’ll be happy with?

Here’s what Todd Armstrong, Branch Manager of Property.ca’s West GTA office, and Josh Benoliel,  VP of Sales, Property.ca Brokerage have to say about the best buyer strategies for fall.

“Tip number one is ALWAYS to hire a good realtor,” says Todd. “Then from there, it’s all about three things: price, presentation and promotion.”

1. Pricing: get the number right 

Figuring out the right price can be tricky. Do you price at market value? Go low to see if it sparks some competition? Plan for an offer day or offers anytime? There’s a lot to think about.

“Before making any kind of pricing decision, get a handle on what’s going on in your neighbourhood,” says Todd. “If all the local listings are priced low with offer dates, that should be your strategy too. Because if everyone else is doing that and you list close to market value, buyers won’t bite. They don’t know what’s in your head – they’ll just assume your place is out of their range.” 

On the other hand, if everyone in the building or area is pricing at market value, then that should be your approach too. And if it’s a mixed bag? Listen to your agent, and do what they recommend. 

One thing to remember, though: underpricing a home does not guarantee a bidding war. (Especially these days.) You could just end up getting offers that are way lower than what you want – or none at all.

And definitely NEVER price higher than market value. Some sellers think buyers who are interested will just come in with a lower offer. But here’s the thing: they probably won’t, unless the property has been sitting on the market for a long time. 

You should also take people’s search patterns into consideration when setting your price. When a buyer enters a price range into their online searches, anything above their max is filtered out. So if you’re happy with $950K but price it at over $1M, you may miss the right buyer completely. Because if their filter doesn’t show them anything over a million, they won’t even see your listings. 

2. Presentation: dial up the appeal 

“If you want to do well right now, your property needs to be a 10/10,” says Josh. “As more listings hit the market this fall, buyers will have a lot more to choose from – and they gravitate towards the showcase-ready homes.” 

Fix everything that needs to be fixed. The first thing a buyer will see will be the imperfections, guaranteed. So replace caulking, fix broken tiles, recaulk bathtubs, scrub light switches, replace loose door handles, patch the cracks in the driveway, weed the patio. If you don’t address the small stuff, they’ll assume the big things haven’t been taken care of either. Their offer will reflect that assumption or they won’t make an offer at all. 

Make first impressions count. Buyers have 50% made up their minds as soon as they’ve walked in the door. Invest in making the entryway as appealing as possible. If it’s a house, clean the porch and the front door, add planters, get rid of spider webs and dead leaves from last fall. If it’s a condo, go bright: illuminate the front hall, add a tidy bench and some artwork. You want the first thing they think is “Wow, this is really bright and well-appointed!” 

Change the lighting. No one wants to live in a dark place. So brighten it up! Replace bulbs throughout the house so they’re all the same. Swap out builder-grade fixtures with something nicer. Todd recommends going with bulbs that are 3000 kelvin to ensure paint colours appear true. Or if you want to go for softer yellows, that’s fine, it can make things feel cozy. But avoid blue LEDs or fluorescents like the plague – they make a room feel cold and antiseptic. 

Stage it if you can. Yeah, it’s an expense. But in Todd’s experience, every dollar spent on staging a home means the sellers get 3 dollars back. Spend $5,000, and that’s $15,000 coming your way when you sell. The biggest benefit of staging is that it helps buyers envision the possibilities of living there, including practical uses of certain rooms. 

Remember this: great presentation is about making the home appealing to buyers, not making it something that you love personally. They need to be able to picture themselves living there, and your best bet is to give them a bright, neutral, and relatively blank canvas that lets them do just that.

3: Promotion: market the heck out of it

The more people who see your listing, the better, so find an agent who will get it in front of as many eyes as possible. Todd’s top tip: work with a Property.ca Inc. agent – your listing will automatically be featured on condos.ca and/or property.ca, high-traffic sites that’ll get you amazing exposure. 

Another important consideration: your best bet is hiring an agent with a strong online presence. You want someone with a strong following on social media who will post your listing on their own channels, do video walkthroughs to generate buzz, and really show off all the features of the property. 

If it’s a condo – make sure the marketing includes great images/video of the building, not just the unit. People want to see the lobby, the amenities, the location – and anything else the place has going for it. 

Photos are super-important, and any agent who shoots a few meh images on their phone is just dialing it in. A good agent will work with a great photographer who knows how to take the best shots – and when. For example, if you’ve got a great view, shooting it at sunset will make more of an impact than taking a picture on a rainy afternoon.