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Advice from Domain Realty: What is a common theme for a successful home sale?

A seller that wants to get top dollar has to do some of the little extras. Clean their house up a little bit. Or maybe do a little bit of updating. Make the property present itself to where the buyer thinks they are getting the value.

One of the things we run into is that buyers feel like they’re overpaying because they can go see public records for what someone acquired a property for, whether it be two months ago or seven years ago. And so ultimately, even though it’s not necessarily a buyer’s market at this time, buyers are still conscious of what they’re paying for something and want to want to feel like they are getting value even though the price is more than it was three, six or 12 months ago.

And that’s something you have to convey to the seller. The seller realizes they have a little more leverage than in previous markets, but people are still going to be the discerning buyer, especially when you get into higher price points. People are going to be a bit more savvy and realize when things are done at a bare minimum, realize when fixtures are less expensive. And when somebody tries to market something as luxurious or elegant or top of the line, it has to be that way and you can’t make short cuts. Sometimes that can come with just the little touches to make your home more contemporary.

One thing we notice is that people don’t put granite in their homes much anymore. In the million-dollar homes, they’re using quartz, limestone, things like that. So now what we’re passing along to clients at a different price point is that by mimicking the same finishing techniques, you can give your property a bit of a distinction from the customary granite, back splash, things like that. Just to differentiate and give it a different taste or style.

As a realtor, you start to see some similarities in a lot of properties, so anything a seller can do to separate themselves and their properties from everything else definitely helps. Get away from the same fixtures, the same finishes. Make the space feel as large as possible and make sure there is a flow to the house. No clutter, good aura, not choppy.