Selling your home in 2021 – here’s how to sell to a virtual market.

Selling your home is an overwhelming process at the best of times, from choosing your agent to making sure your home looks its best for potential viewers, there are a lot of decisions to be made. But it’s especially challenging now,  due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 the sales process has changed. Everyone is doing their research and viewings online. Here are some of the things you can do to maximise the value of your home when selling to a virtual audience. 

Presentation

Before you commission a photographer or videographer, you’ll need to make sure your home looks its best and that it will appeal to purchasers. 

Selling your home is an ideal time to declutter and have a good clear out. Getting rid of any surplus furniture will make a big difference in how your home looks when someone views your home for the first time. Clutter makes a room feel smaller and makes it harder for a buyer to imagine living in your home. If you have things that are taking up space but you don’t want to get rid of, consider tiring a storage unit for a few months.

Think about first impressions, what’s the first thing that a potential buyer will see when they walk into your home, if it’s a view or a lovely focal point like a painting or piece of furniture make sure that these are the things that stand out. 

Maximise the amount of  the natural daylight in your rooms by pulling back the curtains clear from the windows, rolling up blinds and removing any items on windows sills that might block light such as plants, vases or other ornaments.

Be careful not to go too far when decluttering. You want to keep surfaces and kitchen counters clear and remove anything that doesn’t have a purpose. But don’t go so far that the house looks soulless. Maintaining a sense of comfort and warmth is important. Purchasers should feel a family has lived in the house and have had a happy life there when viewing. 

Walk-in condition 

A marked trend in the last few months is a move away from the fixer-upper with more and more purchasers looking for something they don’t have to do too much work to. Pre-Covid-19 people were looking for a house they could do up, renovate or add value to overtime. But over the last 9 months that has changed very significantly. Now, agents are reporting that people are looking to buy houses that are finished and ready to walk into.  

This means that buyers will want to move in to your home without making changes, so finish any incomplete DIY projects and fix up things like holes in walls, broken door knobs etc. 

Don’t underestimate the power of giving bathrooms and kitchens a good clean, even if your home is being viewed virtually you should clean everything until it sparkles. Get rid of limescale, clean and repair tile grout, and hang up fresh towels. Hygiene has become increasingly important so make sure your home is spick and span.

Make sure rooms reflect their purpose.

Not a lot of people can see past what is there when viewing houses. If a room is presented as a storeroom, they will find it hard to imagine it as a bedroom, for example. If you’re marketing a room as a bedroom always try to show a bed in the room. ‘This doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Can you borrow a bed from a friend or family member? Or a simple idea is to use a blowup mattress with bedding to dress a room as a bedroom.

When selling your home, make decisions about how you dress individual rooms based on your target market. If you live in an area where young families are buying, dress your rooms to appeal to them. Changing a dining room into a playroom for example will be a much more appealing feature to a young family and help them to visualise themselves living there.