San Diego Home Info by Gretchen Pagnotta

Why Our North San Diego County Listings Sell!

Santaluz, Plan 1 Hacienda Sur Single Story is in Escrow!

We made some sellers very happy last weekend when we were able to negotiate an offer on their beautiful 1-story Santaluz home.  Listed for $1,199,900, we actively marketed this property and stages it for sales success. It is due to close in 35 days so watch my sales stats for confirmation of a successful closing.  We are entertaining back up offers until all contingencies are removed!  Hopefully we will have smooth sailing and the new owners will enjoy it as much as the current sellers. 

What does it take to sell a home in the current market?

1. Pricing: pricing the home is critical..not the only factor however but certainly one that has to be within reasonable perameters to be of interest to a potental buyer.
2. Merchandising: Call it “staging, decluttering or preparing a home for sale.”  it all adds up to making a property sparkle and making the most of the  positive features.  It is just like planning a outfit for a party. You shop for the perfect dress, coordinate with appropriate shoes and add the jewelry for the total “look.”  The way we live in a home is not the way we sell a home. I try to create viginettes and a purpose for eacg room.  Set the table for a formal dinner so buyers can picture having their celebrations on their new home….add some pizaaz to ourdoor BBQ’s with a Margarita pitcher and cocktail glasses..party time and arrange the furniture so there is room to view all angles of every room and see  s-p-a-c-e!
3.  Global Web Exposure: One of the reasons we work at Windermere (formerly with Coldwell Banker) is we see the huge emphasis on web presence! More than 80% of all buyers use the web to purchase a home.  Searches lead to contacting agents and learning about neighborhoods, schools, floor plans and general community information. Our website www.SanDiegoHomeInfo.comas well as all the search engines and social sites Winderemere promotes provides us and our sellers with uinmatched global web exposure which equals a ton of buyers looking at our listings which brings me to #4.

4. Professional photography:  We use a fabulous professional photographer that captures the emotion of a home as well as all the selling features.  Photographs and a virtual tour are essential.  this is how buyers select homes.  I have seen the worse examples of photography that agents post on the MLS and Realtor.com. A Virtual Tour is mandatory.  It is criminal when I see nice homes that are not presented properly. There are so many options available today with twilight shoots, careful planning and camera focus and quality of equipment used.

5. Advertising: Print advertising has lost much of its appeal with the advent of the Internet.  However many people still look at a Sunday newspaper and if an open house is planned (#6) it is helpful to advertise it with print and with internet exposure.

6.  Open Houses: Have you been told that Open Houses really only benefit the agents”  This partially true.  Most buyers that come to open houses are just starting to look. There are many people that attend open houses. It has been my experience the main people that attend are buyers just starting to look and trying to get familiar with neighborhoods, people considering relocating and educating themselves as to areas, nosy neighbors comparing their home to one held open, serious buyers who may not have seen the home as one selected by their agent, and  buyers who have viewed the home previously and want a second (or third) viewing. In any case I firmly believe open houses are a help and an essential step in marketing a home properly.

7.  Networking with agents and followingup showings.  It has become quiote easy to follow up with showings of a home.  I prefer email as it produces a quick and I belive hoinest response from showing agents.  We want to know what they felt about the home and their clinets comments on pricing, condition, neighborhood, value and if there is serious interest.  Many times questions can be answered and objections overcome.  It is imperative for agents to “make a friend” with showing agents so they feel comfortable to bring in offers and motivated to work with the listing agent.

All these steps then lead to making offers and negotiating..another great blog topic to look for!

If you have a home that you are considering selling we are always happy to give you an opinion of value and if that meets with your approval move forward with our proven marketing plan.  We always say”start packing” because you are moving when we market your home!

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 7th, 2010 at 8:56 pm and is filed under Santaluz, Seller Info. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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