Selling in the new year? Here’s what you can do now

If you’re hoping to sell your home in 2022, you might not be thinking too hard about the process just yet. After all, it’s the holiday season, and you still have lots of time to prepare, right? While you should take some time to enjoy the holidays, the truth is, it’s not too early to think about selling in the new year either. This is especially true if you plan to sell in the winter or spring markets, which will seem a lot closer come January. Make sure you take some time to relax and hang out with friends and family this season. However, if you have some extra time, you can also start thinking about what you can do now to prepare to sell. Here’s what you should start thinking about.

Decide when to sell

First, you should think about when you plan on selling in the new year, which will determine your actions moving forward. Each season tends to have its own real estate trends. For example, winter is often the least busy, while the spring market tends to heat up along with the weather. If you plan to sell within the first couple months of 2022, you may see less demand from buyers, but also less inventory. This means if you attract buyers and your home is one of the few on the market, you could get a great price for it. 

On the other hand, spring has more competition between buyers, but also more listings available. It may be easier to draw in buyers, but keep in mind they will also have more choices. After the winter and spring seasons, the market can flip-flop throughout summer and fall. Once you decide when to list, then you can move forward with other tasks. 

Complete valuable renovations

Completing renovations for the purpose of selling can be tricky, because you don’t want to spend more than you need to get a nice return on investment (ROI). After all, you won’t be enjoying the renovations yourself, so you don’t want to overdo it. However, if your home is outdated to the point where it will impact your selling price, you will likely want to renovate certain areas. The kitchen and bathrooms are typically the most important rooms to keep updated in a home, as they are the most commonly used. You can replace countertops, light fixtures, appliances, vanities, showers, and so on. Fresh, modern renovations will add value to your home and improve its selling potential. 

Find a real estate agent

You will need a great agent on your side to sell your home. Just like every buyer should use an agent, so should sellers. Trying to sell independently could result in many buyers not even seeing your home. This is because some agents won’t show “for sale by owner” homes because they know there is no professional on the other side. Working as a real estate agent is a job that requires training and practice, so it’s not something you can master on your own in a day. Plus, agents help you determine the right asking price for your home, work through offers, and handle paperwork. They take a lot of stress off you as the seller, so they’re not something to pass up on!

Start exploring new home options

Of course, if you’re selling your home, this likely means you’ll be buying another (unless you’ve decided to rent). In this case, you need to figure out where it is you’re going. If you plan to buy again, start thinking about areas, property types and budgets you can work with. Depending on how quickly you plan to sell and move, it might be time to get a pre-approval from a lender too. Of course, you don’t have to do any of this alone. Contact a broker to help you determine your next steps. If you plan to rent, the process isn’t quite as strenuous since you won’t have a mortgage. However, you should still start thinking about potential locations and rental budgets. 

Calculate the costs

While you will earn money from your home sale, it also comes with some costs. This might include any renovations you decide to take on before selling, as we mentioned above. You might also have to do some general maintenance and repairs for anything that could impact the sale, like plumbing or electrical issues. Plus, remember you may be facing mortgage penalties if you’re breaking your current terms early, which can be thousands of dollars. Finally, you should think about moving costs and the costs of staging the home to sell if you choose to do so.

Think about your asking price

Start doing your research on how much your own property is worth. Don’t try to blindly list it, because you might end up asking for a price way above or below what’s reasonable. You can have a home appraisal done by a professional to tell you how much you can get for your home. You should also look at some similar homes near you and see what they recently sold for to compare prices. Your agent will be a big part of this experience as well since they will know all about appropriate listing prices for your property type and location. 

Selling in the new year will be an exciting chapter of your life. Although we can’t be positive about what 2022 will bring in terms of real estate, we’re likely to be looking at a seller’s market for at least a little while longer. This means you should be able to get a decent sale on your home as long as you follow the appropriate steps and do your research!

If you plan to buy a new home, and need help from a broker, get in touch with us at Clinton Wilkins Mortgage Team! You can call us at (902) 482-2770 or contact us here.