This home is a Holly floor plan, one of the more popular homes in Avery Ranch.
Back in June we listed this home for sale. At the same time a real estate agent from the traditional broker in the neighborhood listed another Holly floor plan.
Both homes have 3 bedrooms, 2 ½ baths and a game room. The major differences were the home we sold had carpet downstairs and bland builder grade kitchen. The home that was listed with the other agent had more upgrades as it had wood floors, an enclosed office, updated kitchen with quartz countertops, subway tile, and white cabinets, all of which are preferred by most buyers in the area.
How did we sell our listing for $15,250 more?
Market Preparation and Free Home Staging
The owner of our listing doesn’t live in Austin. He mailed us a key and asked us to get his vacant home ready for sale.
Although the home was in good condition overall it did need some cosmetic work to increase the sales price. Because we specialize in selling homes we have great contacts for contractors including a very reliable handyman. We were able to give the owner suggestions for what would add value to the home and what would not be worth doing. Then we supervised the repairs to make sure everything was done correctly.
After that we had the home staged with our Free Home Staging Furniture.
We have sold several homes with this floor plan. When vacant the Holly floor plan can be confusing to buyers. It’s hard to figure out where to put furniture. Because we have sold other Holly models we know exactly how to stage the home to make it look its best. Staging furniture allows buyers to easily picture themselves living in the home, which will increase the chances of them making an offer.
Open House And A Plan For Showings and Offers
We always advertise our listings as “Coming Soon.” This is a great way to gauge interest before the home is listed as Active in the Realtor MLS. Just before going Active we talk with our clients and recommend a game plan for any offers received to maximize the price they will receive.
When there is strong interest in a home before showings have started we often recommend allowing showings on Friday but not reviewing offers until Monday. This is a good way to expose your home to more showings and increasing the chances of receiving multiple offers.
Many real estate agents are afraid of confrontation. When using this strategy there will be pressure on your listing agent from buyer’s agents to get you to accept their client’s offer.
You need a strong listing agent to establish the time frame for offers and represent your interests. After all you are hiring us to sell your home for the highest price not for your listing agent to make friends.
When there is strong interest in your home we also recommend having an Open House the first weekend. You want to create a sense of urgency among buyers when your home becomes available for showings.
Today many buyers are not committing to working with a real estate agent in the Austin area until after they find a home they like. Or their agent may be busy over the weekend and not able to show your home. Without having an Open House you are missing out on a large portion of the buyers.
For our listing we had a game plan that we would review offers on Monday. As it turns out we did receive multiple offers for the home and were able to call for “Best and Final” from all of the buyers who submitted an offer.
In comparison the sellers for the other Holly floor plan accepted an offer right away for $6,000 less than listing price. They never allowed their home to be exposed to the market and did not have an Open House.
Negotiate Like A Pro
The average real estate agent in Austin may sell only 1 or 2 listings in a year. This means when it comes to negotiating they may be practicing on your home.
We are Certified Negotiation Experts, which means we have completed extensive education in negotiating. We also have real world experience over all the years of helping clients with their real estate transactions.
When you list your home with us you can rely on us to advocate for you when it comes to negotiating the sales price of your home.
With this home the first offers came in at asking price. By Monday we had multiple offers. After asking for Best and Final we were still able to negotiate for better terms for our client.
Eventually we settled on a price $10,000 over asking price. Timing was also very important for our client and we were able to negotiate a quick close without any appraisal contingencies.
When you are ready to talk to us about a custom marketing plan to get the most money for your home call 512-791-7473 or email at eric@koparealestate.com.
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Posted by Eric Peterson on
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