Five Things You Can Do Today To Help Your House Sell Quickly & For the Most Money
The housing markets in Mississauga and the GTA are booming and that might have you considering selling your home. If you bought your home in the last 3 years, there’s a very good chance you’ve already built up significant equity.
Since 2012, the average home price in Mississauga has risen over 250%, making it one of the most expensive cities in the country for housing in 2021.
This price growth is great if you’re a home seller; but to get the best price for your home, you need to prepare. At Justo, we’ve sold all kinds of homes at every price point all across the GTA. We can attest that a little effort goes a long way when it comes to selling your home for the most money. And if you want to sell your home quickly, these tips and tricks will help with that, too.
What Is My Mississauga Home Worth?
There are plenty of resources online that can help you estimate your home’s worth. However, the only way to know your home’s true market value is to hire a professional to help you. Market value of your home is subjective. Yes, it’s partly determined by the housing market, and if it’s booming, your home has the potential to be priced high as well.
However, certain factors will determine if your home will be on the high end or low end of the spectrum in your city. Our real estate agents take these things into consideration when suggesting a price for your home:
- Neighbourhood Comparables (Comps)
What are other homes in your neighbourhood listed at? What did they ultimately sell for? What amenities did those homes have that yours doesn’t, and vice versa? All of these factors will help determine what your home is likely to sell for, and when buyers will recognize you’re asking too much.
Things that are compared are generally the amount of space your home has, the number of bedrooms, whether it has a garage or shed, the condition of the yard, whether your home has had recent updates, etc… - The Neighbourhood Itself
You may have built yourself a luxury home, but if your neighbourhood isn’t desirable, it might not give you the best return on investment. If your neighbourhood is safe, located conveniently to shopping, highways, and leisure activities, includes schools and recreation centers, and is generally well looked after, it will reflect positively on your home’s value.
Further, the quality of the schools and parks in your neighbourhood plays a large part in the price of your home, especially if you have a family home with two or more bedrooms; your buyers likely have children and they will pay more to live near high-ranking schools. - Home Size
The larger your home is, generally, the more it will be worth. However, more important than size will be usable space.
Usable space refers to the areas of your home that will be used for regular living. An unfinished basement or an attic, for example, may not offer your home much if any extra value, unless there is significant potential for the space should someone choose to renovate it. Neither may a sunroom or pool house if it can’t be used the majority of the year. - The Age of Your Home
Newer homes are usually worth more, but older homes with a lot of character can also hold their value, especially if they are maintained well.
Knowing if and when your home has had important improvements and updates, such as a roof replacement, new furnace, or updated plumbing and wiring can help significantly with accurate pricing of your home.
These and other factors can affect the resale value of your home. Most of these things are concrete and you can’t do much to change them. However, if you want to sell your home for the most amount of money in Mississauga, there are things you can do today to prepare for your home to hit the market, sell fast, and put as much cash in your pocket as possible.
Five Tips To Sell Your Home Quickly & For More Money
- Think about your home from a buyer’s perspective. If you love your home, it can be difficult to see it through the eyes of a new family. But it’s important to try to separate yourself from your emotional attachment to your house.
You might absolutely love your banana yellow kitchen walls, but painting it a neutral shade might help your home sell quickly. If you’ve adorned your home with personal items like family photos, remove at least a few of them. Signs that say things like, “The Millers, est 1997” may not work in your favour, so remove those things too.
Of course, before showings, make sure you put away your mail, personal papers, etc. You want your home to appear as void of your personal presence as possible. - Make minor repairs and fixes. There’s a thin line here between spending too much money on improvements and fixing up the little things you need to add value to your home. You probably don’t need to do a full kitchen or bathroom renovation, but look for small things that can be repaired so that a potential buyer feels that your home is move-in-ready. Even if repairs are very minor, it can send a message that your home might be a money pit.
Things you should consider repairing or replacing:
Door hinges that make your cabinets appear uneven
Broken light fixtures
Burnt out light bulbs
Entry doors that don’t close tightly
Leaky faucets
Broken or old appliances
Drawers that don’t slide smoothly
Slow-running drains that need unclogging
Garage door openers that feel or sound clunky
If you’re not sure of the condition of your hot water heater or electrical panel, you can have an electrician come and take a look. If a repair or maintenance is needed, it’s better to know now than during a home inspection with an offer on the line.
You should also clean your carpets and wipe down walls that might be scuffed or dirty. Replace the filters in your furnace and ductwork, and wipe down all your vents and grates to leave no reason for potential buyers to think they may be clogged or dirty inside. - Consider your home’s curb appeal. When a buyer pulls up to a home, they want to be able to visualize themselves coming home each night. If the yard looks bare or the grass is full of weeds, they may think “this home needs work” instead of, “this home looks cozy and welcoming.” So think about the state of your gardens, pavement, walkways, and grass, and evaluate the condition of your outdoor light fixtures, window casings, eaves troughs, and garage door.
Remodeling Magazine ranked the return on investment of a number of outdoor repairs and refinishes and replacing your garage door recouped almost all of its cost, making it a no-brainer if yours looks outdated. - Declutter. Yes, we highly encourage you to declutter “Marie Kondo style” on your house. You might even want to rent a storage unit and remove anything you don’t need from your home. Things to remove to make your home as staged as possible when it hits the market:
- Small appliances you can live without like blenders, stand mixers, and crockpots
- Anything on your kitchen counters
- Kids toys and stuffed animals
- Things that take up space on the floor
- Baby items like playpens and high chairs
- Unnecessary furniture, especially children’s items like train tables and bean bag chairs
Do the same in your garage. Put away tools. Hang yard tools and brooms to lift them off the ground. Tidy up toys and sports equipment. Finally, give your garage a thorough cleaning, sweeping out the corners and getting rid of any spider webs.
- Start looking for the best agent to sell your home. Of course, we have great agents at Justo, ready to help you out! But no matter who you choose, you need to make sure they know your neighbourhood, and that they have a great track record of selling homes similar to yours.
Your sister-in-law’s best friend MIGHT be the best realtor for you, but you shouldn’t make a decision based on who you know, or who is friendly. You want to see results.
With that said, you also want to choose someone you like. Meet your realtor in person, make sure you feel good speaking to them, and that they return your calls and emails in a reasonable amount of time. You will spend a lot of time with your realtor, and you’re trusting them with your home – probably your largest asset. Be sure you feel confident they will represent you well when speaking to potential buyers, lawyers, and home inspectors.
If you live in Mississauga or the GTA and you want to sell your home, Justo would be thrilled to represent you. We’ve built our highly successful agency on principles that give our clients the absolute best possible experience for the lowest price. To learn more about how we save our clients an average of $11,250, or what services we include when we sell your home (you won’t believe the seller’s package we provide!), reach out to us today! Our agents will contact you and set up a time to meet with you. No pressure, we promise!
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