When should you sell Your Condo?
There are many reasons WHY people may choose to sell their condo, from upsizing, lifestyle changes, to cashing in on investment returns, but how do you know WHEN you should sell your condo? Consider the following: Your needs come first– Life always goes on with or without any preconceived notions of when you may think the best time is to sell your house property. Whether you have a baby on the way or are prepping for a lifestyle change, you should plan to sell your condo at a time that meets your personal needs first. This will ensure that there is as little stress as possible when you make your transition.
Timing is everything– Real estate is and always will be a seasonal game. Late summer and late winter tend to have the fewest amount of buyers looking to purchase a condo. As a SELLER you should always try to put your condo for sale outside of these quiet periods to ensure that you have maximum demand and exposure to interested buyers (which can be helpful for creating price boosting bidding wars). So when should you plan to sell your condo? Assuming it works with your personal needs – aim for the peak seller’s markets that occur in February, March, April, September, and October when buyers are typically the most motivated.
Know your niche – and the competition– Because of their generally more accessible price point and overall higher availability, there will likely be many sellers out there listing condo properties very similar to yours – maybe even some in your building! – which can affect your amount of showings and possibly result in a lower sale price. If many other units are listed near you with similar characteristics to yours, consider holding off until market inventory drops off to help increase your chances of offers.
The ever changing real estate market – Does it pay off to follow the real estate market trends? Of course! The basic laws of supply and demand constantly affect real estate transaction frequency, which in turn affects other decision-making variables like mortgage interest rates. Understanding the market can be a bit daunting but it can help you to know when the best time to sell your house is from a financial standpoint.How to prepare your condo for listing
De-cluttering is key –
It is your condo and you have it just the way you like it – but this doesn’t mean the décor and space that are comfortable with will be appealing to potential buyers. They best thing that can be done is to return your condo to as neutral a state as possible. This means storing loose personal items and functional furniture like laundry hampers. If you don’t have the room to stick items like this in a closet or your storage locker, arrange to have a friend hold them for you. Negative space conveys taste and sophistication, so consider swapping out large furniture with more compact items to help make rooms appear as large as possible. This is especially important for condos. Ensure that your storage locker isn’t maxed out either as this will be shown as a part of the property. Getting ready to sell your condo is a great time to clear out or donate some of those old items that are lying around – it will enhance the buyers experience when viewing plus it means less items you need to haul when you move.
Staged for success –Staging can make or break the showing experience of condos, but is important to cater to your intended buyer. If you plan on marketing to families and have a second bedroom that you are using as storage, consider getting some cheap furniture and convert it to a kid’s bedroom during the listing process. If you are looking for the high-end buyer, minimize clutter, invest in some décor accents, and possibly larger upgrades like higher end appliances – sometimes even expensive upgrades like this can benefit the seller in the end. Try and match furnishings to room spaces so that they have maximum appeal to your viewers. If you have special features like a balcony (more unlisted space), ensure that these are highlighted in a way that demonstrates added value.
Clean, tidy – and did we mention, clean?– The cleaner your condo is, the faster it will sell. Buyers won’t just glance around – they’ll look at all the fine details: inside cabinets, your kitchen drawers and your bathroom vanity. What does the state of your condo’s cleanliness say about the state and quality of the property in general? You may spend hours on a big overhaul cleaning session, but remember that you need to continue to update this cleaning every time you get a viewer for optimal impact.
Make your condo smell good –In a more confined condo space where the first impression before visual could be smell, avoiding negative odors can be paramount. Don’t cook with strong spices or ingredients like fish/curries while your condo is on the market. Ensure that other offending odors like pet litter boxes are dealt with. We recommend a fresh coat of paint and deep carpet/curtain clean to handle any long-term odors like cigarette smoke.
Neighbours – Always touch base with your immediate neighbour that buyers will be viewing your place. Keeping up a good rapport and keeping them in the loop will go a long way towards optimizing your showing experiences and avoid having them make excess noise, etc.How to price your condo for sale
The value of your property will almost always be determined by the comparable sales or listing price of units nearly identical to your in the area or in your building (taking into account any renovations or upgrades). Square footage and the unit’s position in the complex/views may also factor in. Here are some items to consider when determining the value of your condo:
- Diminishing returns on size – the bigger the condominium building, the lower the cost per square foot. Your unit might be great, but there may also be a lot more in your building to choose from.
- Height and viewpoints – Whether to enjoy better views or to eliminate the possibility of a noisy neighbour above, buyers will always be willing to pay more for higher and upper floor condo units. The square footage of upper units and units with special or unique views should be priced accordingly. The units placement in relation to the rising and setting sun also factors into this value appraisal.
- Layout & features – Condos can be notorious for tight hallways and entranceways. Lots of open, useable space in your layout will add a lot of value. Other features like more windows, tall ceilings, and corner units further increase the layout value of your home. Other unique features like terraces and rooftop balconies will add a lot of value.
- Upgrades and renovations – add on upgrades from the original builder won’t add a ton of value but they can make your condo unique. Renovations done to older units will increase value at a much higher ratio.
- Building amenities and utilities – parking, a storage locker and special features like a pool or gym, help factor into pricing. Some buyers may not want upkeep based amenities like a pool because it increases strata fees but typically it will be a plus.
- Reputation and people of the building – the demographics of other owners (and how many renters there are), noise proofing, quality of construction, efficiency of the strata council, etc. will play a role in determining value.
- Strata fees – if maintenance fees are significantly higher than average, prices will generally be lower
Marketing
When listing your property, our job is to ensure we use the best marketing strategies to capture the attention of as many potential buyers. With thousands of condos for sale in Metro Vancouver, standing out from your competition is critical.- Because condos are smaller than houses, capturing great looking images of them can be difficult at best. We use professionals with wide-angle lenses that can capture a room without making it seem smaller or bigger than it truly is.
- If your condo restricts open houses, we can arrange for interested buyers to see it by appointment. We will do our best to maneuver around any restrictions you have.
- We ensure your listing has a strong social media presence that allows you to repost and share within your network as well.
Showing your condo
When buyers make an appointment to see your condo, keep the following in mind:- Leave the condo! No one likes a salesperson buzzing around when they shop for appliances. The same goes for home buyers.
- Be flexible with showing times – There’s a lot of competition out there, so make it convenient for buyers to see your condo. Try to make it as easy as possible to set up showings, including providing us access to your building FOB key.
- If you have tenants, you need to provide them with 24 hours notice of showings. The sale will be less intrusive to them if it’s quick, so their cooperation – in de-cluttering, and keeping it clean – will go a long way.