Although I have worked and grown through many changes during my thirty seven plus years in selling Naperville area real estate, nothing has affected the market, the way real estate is sold, or given us old timers more gray hair than the last five years of enhanced development of HGTV and the sophistication of digital photography. Any seller who has not sold a home in the past five years is in for a shock, everything they thought they knew about selling a home has changed. Sellers who do not understand the new rules of engagement can easily make costly mistakes and jeopardize chances of a sale. The following changes have altered the home buying and selling game forever.
The Creation of HGTV: If you are reading this, I assume that you may have heard of the HGTV drinking game; every time Chip and Joanna Gaines or The Property Brothers say “open concept” you do a shot. Chainsaws and sledge hammers are flying off the shelf! Seriously, buyers spend countless hours watching HGTV and have developed extremely refined tastes. Unfortunately less than 10 percent of the homes they are seeing on the market even come close to what they expect to meet their expectations.
The Innovation of Mobile Devices and HD Internet Connectivity: Buyers previously had to visit a home to add or remove it from their short list. No longer the case, today sellers have between 15 and 20 seconds to “sell” their home, and those seconds are on a mobile device anywhere in the world – not with buyers visiting the home for sale. If they don’t like what they see on their device, they will never waste their time visiting in person.
The Revolution of Internet Real Estate Websites: Every real estate company worthy of your consideration has populated the Internet with spiffy websites that provide property data, historical facts, HD photos, automated valuations, neighborhood/school information and more. These websites have completely removed the need for buyers to visit in person to determine if they like the home. Once the buyer has narrowed down to their few favorites, they only visit the ones they like.
ADVICE: First and foremost, don’t rush to market. Consult a licensed Realtor® as soon as you have a notion to move and engage them on your behalf. Most Realtors will be happy to provide you with good advice on how to prepare your home for market without obligation. Too many home sellers wait to engage a Realtor until they feel that their home is “ready” – spending time and money doing what they think is right and not necessarily what today’s buyers are looking for. You also must hire a Realtor who is tech savvy and willing to spend the time and money on a professional photographer using HD and even drone photography. Again, you never get a second chance to make a first impression!
