Summer is here. The great weather, the beaches, the vacations.
All these wonderful things we look so forward to can spell disaster for a homeowner looking to sell. Summer and Winter tend to be the slowest times of the year to sell a home so here are some things you can do to get the best deal with fewer buyers.
In a slow market, take advantage of the so called “looky-loos.” These are people who may just book to view your unit even if they do not have any intention of buying.
While you may see it as a waste of your time to give top notch attention to those who are obviously not looking to buy, you never know if they have friends or family who may be a perfect match for your home. This means hosting open houses even when the streets are blocked off so that residents of the neighbourhoods who are passing by can have a look.
It is also a great idea to advertise in publications that also advertise for the events. Local publications with weekly advertisements for citywide events very often have a listing section for homes.
Placing an add in these publications just prior to and during these events will be noticed by a larger percentage of readers than may normally pick up a paper when nothing is going on.
Make sure to not only advertise your home, but all open houses as well.
Similarly to last week’s tips on construction noise, ensure that if you are showing your home during louder festivals, your home is well insulated against noise.
Keep the windows closed and use a fan to circulate the air instead.
Let your neighbours know when you are hosting potential buyers so they can keep their celebratory noise to a minimum for the duration of your showing.
Let buyers know how often they can expect to hear the festival noise and when it ends.
It is easy for buyers to assume when they hear excessive noise outside, that your home will always be noisy even though this is not the case.
– Ryan DeLuca is a realtor with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, and host of The Real Estate Minute on Novus TV; rdeluca@sothebysrealty.ca.
