Lets Talk Turkey About Selling

I know. I thought it was brilliant to title a blog article "Let's Talk Turkey about Selling In Today's Market." And then I saw about half a dozen articles titled with some version of the same pithy phrase in my inbox this morning, and a little piece of my soul went into the trash folder along with those emails.

What can I say? The world's a competitive place, we're all laboring under information overload, and pretty much everything seems complicated and uncertain these days - perhaps with the exception of how we're all looking forward to pie this week. Guess what? All of that has impacted today's real estate market, as well. Folks trying to sell their homes in this topsy-turvy market are looking for a plan to be successful, and they're asking the same questions that may have already crossed your mind if you're contemplating a move. Cue some reality checks and some genuine advice in the paragraphs below...

1. When should we hit the market? The answer to this depends a lot on what we know right now. We must begin with asking what is logistically possible for you? Are you going out of town? Is a new baby about to be born? Do you have some market prep to take care of before we advise listing? Next, we line that reality up with seasonal, market, and even weather considerations. We don't advise taking pictures during a thunderstorm. We also don't advise hitting the market right before a big holiday. We also take into consideration things like current inventory and absorption rates: how's the market behaving, and do we expect those conditions to better or potentially worsen in your favor in the future? Marry all of that up with your goals as a seller, and we start to land on some options. What we can't do is guess at the unknowable. Economic experts don't truly know when interest rates are expected to do what any time soon. We likely don't know if or when your neighbor might also list and throw a monkey wrench into our pricing strategy. Trying to time the market is, in the words of the nation's top investors, "a loser's game."

2. What do we need to do to get ready for the market? All sorts of factors weigh into this one. Unless you live in what I call "magazine style" - the basics will include a deep clean, a declutter at minimum, and some effort at staging. We'll discuss staging further in a moment. Also, if you live in "magazine style," we all bow down before your seemingly inhuman perfection. Truly, we don't know how you do it. For the rest of humanity, we will also suggest sprucing your front garden beds, trimming plants, fresh mulch, and - if you can muster it - a pretty wreath for the front door. Details matter! Freshening up paint and changing out light fixtures are super affordable and surprisingly impactful tweaks you can make to upgrade your home's look. Any and all recommendations are based on whether they will make a difference for your home sale. Will replacing carpet with luxury vinyl potentially upgrade your pricing? Maybe not enough if you also have an upstairs master bedroom that will limit your audience. We're looking to ensure that any sweat equity or money spent for market prep will either remove a red flag for a buyer, address a condition issue, improve your days on market, or better still, your likely sales price. Market experience and a close look at comparable sales and active competition will help inform those decisions.

3. Do we really need to stage our home? Some people get all aquiver when it comes to the subject of staging. Let’s dispel with the fear that some people have. The stager is not going to walk through your home with her nose upturned making you feel terrible about your furniture and décor. What she will do is spend at least an hour in your home taking notes of what you have and where it is, and she’ll come up with a full plan – room by room – of what to adjust, what to move, and how to arrange what you already have to its best photographic potential. The reality is most people arrange their belongings in a way that contributes to comfort and function in their home. The point of staging is to arrange those items in a way that’s most aesthetic so that the photos and in-person showings display the home in its most appealing form. Great staging can remove distractions, neutralize a property, and create a powerful emotional connection for a buyer to the home. As silly as it might sound, throw pillows, artfully arranged trays in bathrooms, and a bowl of fresh fruit in the kitchen make all the difference. Even brand new, otherwise perfect new construction homes benefit from the context and warmth contributed by well-arranged furniture and décor.

4. Okay – But what should we really expect when we list?(See Video) Especially these days - what's really going to happen when we throw ourselves on MLS and stake that sign in the yard? This is the question we get from clients that’s nearly impossible to answer with absolute certainty. In today’s market, meaning Q4, 2023, we’ve seen a significant shift in market behavior, days on market, available inventory, and absorption as compared to the beginning of this year, and certainly in stark contrast to the fever-pitch sellers’ market DFW experienced from mid-2020 through Q2 2022. In addition to the importance of thoughtfully preparing your home to list, strategic pricing, and proper expectations of days on market is paramount. Long gone are the days when we could push the price and still reel in ten offers are more. The market has softened to the point that some neighborhoods are carrying six months of inventory or more – a strong indicator of buyer leverage. In those cases, pricing competitively is almost required to get traction. With protracted days on market, sellers must understand that pulling and discussing feedback and paying attention to weekly market shifts is important to know what adjustments to make and when to price. When posed with this question, “what’s going to happen when we list,” we often have to cite what we can and can’t control. We CAN control presentation (photography, video, showing condition), marketing (social media, open houses, word of mouth), and pricing. Unfortunately, we can’t control the market, buyer behavior, or those pesky interest rates. A bit of a bummer, right?

All bummers aside, DFW and North Texas in general remains an attractive place to land, and life – if y’all didn’t notice – carries on, even with economic challenges and uncertainty. That whole Maslow’s pyramid thing still applies: people need a place to call home! In other words, homes are still bought and sold in this market. It’s just that now – more than ever – a plan, a process, and a realistic, data-backed approach to listing your home for sale is necessary for success. And when you're asking hard questions, you need an honest, experienced agent on your side to - well, talk turkey, hash out the details, and keep an eye on the oven for you. With gratitude, it is our honor to walk our clients through this journey. We are thankful for being trusted with each opportunity to be of service!