Contributed by Kevin Crozier, Long-time Mat-Su Realtor with The Kevin Crozier Team of RE/MAX Dynamic of the Valley
My name is Kevin Crozier and I’ve been a resident and local realtor in the Mat-Su Valley for over 35 years. I have raised my family here and have helped many residents find their dream home or business property. Last year was an impressive year for the Mat-Su Real Estate market. With record low interest rates, over all there were more homes on the market, homes sold faster and at higher prices compared to previous years. I don’t think any of us in the real estate profession predicted the market would be so busy last year in the middle of a global health pandemic.
The Mat-Su region remains one of the few and fastest growing areas in the state whereas other places, such as Anchorage, are seeing a net population loss over the past few years. While many home sellers plan to list their home during the summer months when they want to move, there are some important steps and benefits to getting your home on the market now versus waiting a few months.
Take Advantage of Limited Spring Inventory
There are not a lot of homes on the market right now. You can get ahead of your potential competition by placing your home on the market now instead of waiting till May or June to list when many other sellers in your price range will be listing their properties too.
Be Prepared with a Pre-Sale Home Inspection
I strongly recommend a pre-sale home inspection, which can save you thousands of dollars in your home sale. You will know about any issues in advance of a regular home inspection, and what you need to fix for a successful sale. Some repairs or fixes may require you to hire a contractor and contractors can be booked out for several weeks during the summer. By doing a pre-home sale inspection now and before the market gets busy, you can keep your home sale on track with less chance for delays. It's important to know that not all repairs on a home inspection report are necessary, and some may be more important than others due to financing guidelines. Your real estate professional can help guide you through this phase of the home selling process.
Get Your Home “Picture Perfect”
You only have one chance to make a first impression on a potential home buyer – and often that first impression comes from them viewing photos of your listing. Make sure your home is clean, decluttered and ready to be professionally photographed. Ask your Realtor if they provide professional photos for your listing.
How to Price Your Home
You must consider not only what your home is worth, but also at what price will get the buyer into your home and making an offer faster? There is an adage referenced when selling real estate: “You can’t change the location, you can change the condition, but at the end it is all reflected in the price.” Price trumps location and condition. Now there are a few things to understand about pricing. The first is simple: buyers buy in brackets. This means that buyers will search home prices up to a certain dollar amount (i.e. up to $250,000, $300,000, etc.) Therefore, if you are 1 dollar over the “bracket” you will miss that group of potential buyer candidates. So, if your home is listed at $251,000 and you would gladly accept $248,000, get your home priced at $249,999. Not only will you pick up more potential buyers, you will be closer to what buyers may perceive as “fair market value” (FMV).
Please feel free to reach out if you would like a more in-depth explanation on any of these home selling steps or are interested in learning about the current market value of your Mat-Su home. I can be reached at kevin@kevincrozier.com or you can visit my website at www.wasillarealestate.com for more information about our local real estate market.