REAL ESTATE
offer, you should be willing to accept the offer if it’s for full list price. You also need to be careful not to price your home so low that buyers assume there’s a problem with the property. Your agent can help you strike the right balance. Presenting your home to attract buyers Garnering multiple offers requires more than just a price adjustment. Real estate agents recently have pointed to what they call the “HGTV effect” on buyers: they expect every home they visit to be in prime condition and staged to television-quality perfection. Few buyers today are willing to look past any flaws or consider even minor cosmetic repairs, so even though sellers have the upper hand in some housing markets, they still need to make their home as attractive and well maintained as possible, particularly if they want to receive more than one purchase offer. Areas to pay attention to include the front door and exterior curb appeal, your kitchen and your bathrooms. Your agent can help you prepare your home to highlight its best features and reduce the appearance of any flaws. If you want to opt out of all this prep work, though, be aware that buyers might expect you to offer your home at a lower price and even then may ask for a further discount to cover the costs of painting, replacing carpet or making other repairs. While you prepare your home to appeal to buyers, your real estate agent should be getting ready for a marketing blitz with stellar professional photos that showcase your home at its best and that help garner widespread attention on as many websites as possible. It’s tough to get multiple offers on a property unless a wide array of prospective buyers is aware that it has been listed for sale. Many agents actively network their listings with their colleagues and many let each other know when a home is about to come on the market in order to generate prelisting interest. Overcoming the objections of potential buyers Real estate agents have special training that helps them understand how to identify what’s stopping a potential buyer from making an offer and what it would take to overcome that obstacle. Buyers today are more concerned than ever about making sure the home they buy will hold onto its value over the long term and that their housing payment will fit comfortably into their budget. Borrowers understand that if mortgage rates are higher when they lock in their loan, their payments will be higher than they would be at a lower rate. Depending on the limits of the loan program chosen by the borrowers, sellers can sometimes ease the burden for buyers by offering to pay some closing costs or to buy down the interest rate by paying one or more discount points. Offering financial assistance to buyers upfront is one way to encourage more buyers to consider your home, which could in turn generate more offers. v AUTHOR: Gary Scott is president of Long & Foster Real Estate, the largest privately held residential real estate company in the United States. He has more than 25 years of experience in the real estate business and is known for his ability to create an inspirational and productive environment for employees and sales associates. In his current role, Mr. Scott oversees Long & Foster’s more than 10,000 sales associates across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, ensuring the company maintains its position as market leader and its commitment to its sales associates and their customers
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