How To Sell Your Home Mt Pleasant SC

How To Sell Your Home Mt Pleasant SC: 2 Very Important Tips

Here are two important factors to consider if you want to know how to sell your home Mt Pleasant SC and net the most money.

Factor 1: FSBO or Realtor?

The first thing is whether or not you need to hire a Realtor to list your house, or if you want to try to sell your home For Sale By Owner (FSBO). Currently, most of the Charleston real estate market (including Mt Pleasant) is in a Sellers Market. So, that means getting your home sold should be easy, right?

Just looking at the most recent stats from the MLS, the Average Days On The Market (DOM) for Mt pleasant Sc homes for sale is 78. There are currently 607 homes listed for sale in Mt Pleasant. Of those, more than half (338) have been on the market for 78 days or longer. So, maybe it is not as easy as it seems.

One of the biggest reason how to sell your home mt pleasant sc s home owners decide to sell their home themselves is because of the perception that they will make more money by not having to pay a commission to a list agent.

In theory it makes sense–you can make an extra 2%-3% by doing it yourself. However, perception in this case is not reality.

The average home sale for a FSBO is $208,000. The average price for a home listed with a Realtor is $235,000.

Why is there such a disparity? Part of it is because Realtors tend to know more about the market numbers, and have better access to find localized values.

They can look at a specific neighborhood and not only see recent sales numbers, but can go back and see the trends of home values–are they on the way up, on the way down, and by how much?

The MLS is the best resource for this information–it is what appraisers use when determining a homes value. Online sites such as Zillow and Trulia are not reliable resources for values as they are often off.

In fact, Zillow states on their website that they are more than 10% off on values for 43.4% of the Charleston County homes listed on their site. In fact, they are only within 5% of accuracy for 30.7% of the homes.

how to sell your home mt pleasant sc
Home buyers are searching for homes..can they find yours?

 

Another factor that contributes to FSBOs selling for less is exposure–or lack thereof.

If you’re home isn’t on the MLS, chances are most buyers are not even aware that it is for sale.

When you see listings for homes online, the majority of those are coming off of the Charleston MLS.

 

Here is a great email and response from Dave Ramsey, respected financial guru, when asked about selling a home with an agent vs. FSBO:

Dear Dave,

What are the advantages of using a real estate agent versus going the for-sale-by-owner route when it comes to selling a home?

– Seth

Dear Seth,

I’ve had a real estate license for 30 years. If I were to put my personal residence on the market today, I’d use an active real estate agent who really knows his or her stuff in the marketplace. I’d gladly pay them their commission, too.

Now, why would I do that if I could just sell it myself and save the commission cost? For starters, if I do a for-sale-by-owner, or FSBO, I’m only getting my place in front of buyers I can attract from seeing a newspaper ad, Craigslist, and anyone who happens to drive by the house. If you go with a high-octane real estate agent, you’ll have the advantage of being exposed to their entire pool of buyers. More importantly, you’ll be in the MLS, or Multiple Listing Service, database. There, you’ll immediately have thousands of potential buyers. So, who do you think will have the best chance of selling your house? Market exposure is everything in the real estate game!

And think about this: Even if you went the FSBO route every time you moved, you might do three or four of these transactions in a lifetime. A good agent closed three or four deals last week! They’ll know all the ins and outs of buying and selling a home, and they’ll walk you through every step of the process. Research has shown that between basic mistakes, pricing errors, and lack of negotiation skills, you’ll cost yourself more than the agent’s commission by trying to sell it yourself.

Trust me, you’ll get a much better deal—with a lot less hassle—by using a top-flight real estate agent!

Dave

All things considered, you are better off hiring an agent. However, you have to hire the right agent that knows the market stats and will help you determine the best price to list your home so you get it sold.

It is important to remember that your best list price should be your first list price–do not attempt to test the market or see if you can get a little more for your home. This will backfire, and cause your listing to languish on the market–what’s known as a stale listing.

Keep in mind that over half of the current listings in Mt Pleasant have been listed longer than 78 days, which is the Average Days On The Market for Mt Pleasant.

So, even in a sellers market, not all houses are selling as quickly as they should. This is why choosing the right agent is so important.

Factor 2: Staging Nets You More

how to sell your home mt pleasant sc
courtesy of homestarstaging.com

I mentioned two important factors for how to sell your home Mt Pleasant SC at the beginning, and the second is whether or not to stage your house.

Your perception of what staging involves may not be accurate.Staging is not just for empty houses, and it does not mean filling up your house with a bunch of expensive furniture.

how to sell your home mt pleasant sc
courtesy of homestarstaging.com

 

Staging entails many different strategies.

It is important when selling a home (whether or not you stage it) to de-clutter and de-personalize a home.

You want the buyers to be able to envision themselves living there, and if the house is messy or full of family pictures, that makes it harder for them to visualize themselves in it.

how to sell your home mt pleasant sc
courtesy of homestarstaging.com

 

Beyond that is where staging comes in.

It can be as simple as some new paint in neutral colors, sprucing up curb appeal, re-arranging the furniture you have to better highlight your home or to make rooms appear bigger, or adding some extra decorative touches to really make your house shine.

Staging does cost money. However, staged homes on average sell for 6% more, which more than makes up for the cost.

how to sell your home mt pleasant sc So, let this be a lesson to all would be home sellers. You have probably heard the old saying “it takes money to make money”.

The definition of a good investment is if it makes you back more money than you spent. This is what is known as money well spent.

If you can make more money on the sale of your home, why wouldn’t you?

If you can make an extra 13%, would spending 2%-3% of that be a bad idea? Especially if it saved you time and the hassle?

how to sell your home mt pleasant sc Wouldn’t staging be a good decision if it nets you an extra 6%–even if you spent 1% on the staging? (Staging prices vary, so I just used that as an example to illustrate the main point).

Sometimes, people will trip over dollars to save pennies. If you are thinking of selling your Mt Pleasant home, then don’t let this happen to you.

 

If you are thinking of selling, here are some FREE resources for you:

As I mentioned, it is important to hire the right agent. Check out the sellers page on my Pam Marshall Realtor website to see my marketing plan and why I am the right agent to get your home sold.

You can also check out my home selling videos and blog posts for more information.

Still thinking of selling FSBO? I have a website specifically for Mt Pleasant For Sale By Owner–you can download my “FSBO Help Kit” with lots of helpful information and resources to help you sell on your own.

You can also download a free copy of my “Winter 2014/15 Sellers Guide” by signing up below.

When the time comes to determine the best way how to sell your home Mt Pleasant SC, make sure you don’t forget these two important tips!

how to sell your home mt pleasant sc






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