In my 13 years of experience as a realtor, I have transacted over 500 properties, and I have noticed that many homeowners overlook small details that can result in their houses being sold at a lower price than they deserve. Fortunately, there are several simple tips that can help increase the price of your apartment without requiring excessive effort, inconvenience, or cost. While these tips may not guarantee a $100k increase in your selling price, they can certainly bring you closer to achieving your desired price.
1. Solve the leaking issue
Leaking problems are a major deal breaker for most HDB and condo transactions.Even if your home doesn't have a leaking problem, it can still affect your selling price, particularly for those who have lived in the property for more than 8 years. Buyers may mistake simple peeling paint in the bathroom ceiling for a leak and either not shortlist your property or offer a significantly lower price. A simple solution would be to hire a handyman to repaint the bathroom ceiling, costing you less than $200. This small investment can potentially increase your home's value by $2k to $20k and attract buyers more quickly.
2. Can’t sell your HDB flat to certain races due EIP Quota.
If you encounter this problem, you may end up selling your flat for an average of $50k below your neighbour’s valuation especially those not able sells to Chinese. I recently assisted a client who had been trying to sell their flat for 3 years without success due to this reason. After helping them appeal to HDB, we were able to sell the property within a month, albeit at a price around $20k below valuation. While not ideal, it was the best outcome considering the circumstances. Many homeowners are unaware that they can appeal to HDB, although certain requirements must be met for a successful appeal.
3. Ask the right price
Pricing your property correctly is crucial. Many homeowners tend to ask for a higher price than what they are willing to accept, hoping to leave room for negotiation or to attract buyers who are not skilled at negotiating. This strategy can work if there are no similar units for sale nearby. However, in reality, it is rare to find no competition in the market. Asking for a significantly higher price than the average market price can make neighbouring properties with similar conditions seem more attractive, even if they are already asking slightly higher than the average. This can result in your neighbours selling their homes at a good price while you struggle to sell yours.
This approach is widely employed within the pre-owned phone industry. Typically, business proprietors establish multiple stores along a single street. They then offer varying prices for the same phone model. When customers assess these different shops, they tend to perceive the most affordable price on that street as the most favourable, prompting them to conclude their comparisons and make a purchase.
So you can choose to be the one who takes the benefit while your neighbours are asking for a higher price, or you can choose to be the one to help your neighbours sell at a good price.
4. Setup a Open House If you've been keeping an eye on new condo launches, you might have noticed that in recent years, the price difference between new condos and those being resold has been growing. Despite this, new condos are selling better. Have you ever wondered if the people buying these new condos ever compare the prices of resold ones? Well, one big reason for this trend is a simple strategy used by most developers - it's called 'Balloting'. Here's how it works: They bring all the potential buyers together on the same day, and on that day, they reveal the prices and start selling. When the first buyer makes a purchase, it kind of sets the tone, and other buyers start following suit without much time to think. It's like, if you don't buy now, someone behind you will, even if the price isn't that reasonable.
We can actually learn something from this approach. Imagine if we held open house events, but only for a short period of time on specific weekends. This would create a sense of urgency, like telling buyers, 'Hey, my house is really popular. I know you have other houses to see, but if you don't make an offer now, someone else will. By the time you're done looking at other houses, this unit might be sold!' When one buyer starts offering, others who are interested would feel pressured to make offers too, or else they might miss out on the house. As a result, the competition among buyers would likely drive up the price. I've seen many cases where buyers even offer more than what the owner originally asked for.
Remember, this tip is related to the previous one. If your asking price is really high and you're only getting a buyer every two weeks or once a month, then you might not have the chance to use this strategy.
5. Vacant House
If your house is vacant, you might want to do a few things before showing it to potential buyers. A lot of owners wait until the last minute to remove any leftover furniture, but doing it earlier could actually help you get a better price.
The first impression is really important. Making the space clean and tidy is a basic step that makes the house feel more inviting. Also, there's a little trick you can try that doesn't cost much but can boost the selling price. It's repainting the walls with a fresh, neutral color. Even if the walls are in bad shape, you can find an affordable painter to do a quick job for around $1,000. This could help you sell the house for $10,000 to $20,000 more. It's not about trying to trick buyers, but sometimes they can't picture the house looking nice when it's not presented well (that's why physical viewing is so important). If they're buying the house, they'll likely repaint it anyway. I hope these five simple tips can be a little helpful. If they don't exactly match your situation, you can always get in touch with me for a friendly chat, without any obligation.
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