Selling Your House? 2 Ways To Boost The Sales Price

When you decide to sell your house, you might be tempted to list it as quickly as possible. After all, the longer it sits on the market, the more people might come across your listing, right? Unfortunately, skipping a few important steps might damage the final sales price of your property—which could put you in a bind when it comes to paying for a new place. Fortunately, you might be able to boost the sales price of your home by doing these two simple things:

1: Hire a Professional Photographer

These days, potential buyers have access to thousands of online real estate listings from the comfort of their own homes. While they lounge in their bathrobes on a Sunday morning, they can glance through photos of your place and then compare it to the house down the street. Unfortunately, if the photos of your house don't look pristine, they might not make your place stand out in a competitive market. Here are a few reasons you should always hire a professional photographer:

Wide Angle Lenses: Is that cramped living room killing your listing? A professional photographer might be able to use a wide-angle lens to shoot the space, making the entire area feel open and airy.
Better Lighting: Because photographers typically take light readings of the space before they start taking pictures, your house will look lighter and brighter in those photos—giving your place a warm feeling.

In addition to giving buyers a positive impression of your home, professional photography can drive up the sales price. In fact, one study found that homes listed between $200,000 and $1,000,000 sold for between $3,400 and $11,200 more than their list price—when they were photographed with a professional camera. If you want to improve your chances of selling your home quickly for a great price, find a professional photographer in your area that specializes in real estate.

2: Stage Your Place

Wouldn't it be a shame if a buyer were to fall in love with your online listing, only to be disappointed when they tour your home in real life? When buyers walk through a new home, they tend to imagine themselves in the space, which is why setting the stage with beautiful home furnishings and neutral décor is so important.

Fortunately, you don't have to spend thousands of dollars on brand new furniture to enjoy the benefits of a better-looking place. By hiring a professional home staging company, you can sit back and relax while someone else beautifies your entire house. Although home staging might seem expensive, typically costing between $200 and $5,000, you might be able to enjoy these benefits by calling in a team of decorating experts:

Less Time On the Market: Do you need to sell your place in a hurry? If you do, home staging is money well spent. On average, staged homes spend 73% less time on the market. To put that number into perspective, if your home would have sat untouched for 6 months without home staging, sprucing the place up might make your home sell in a little over a month and a half.
More Money In Your Pocket: In addition to being able to unload your old place and move on with your life, staging can also put more money in your pocket. In fact, one study found that staged homes tended to sell for 6% above the asking price. That means that if you list your home for $250,000, staging it might drive the price up to $265,000.

You never know. Taking the time to prepare your home for market might even spark a bidding war—boosting that sales price even more.

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