How Do I Sell My Home?

What to Do Before You Put Your Property on the Market

If you're starting to think "How do I sell my home?", it's easy to assume the first step is choosing an agent and putting the property online.

I don't think it is.

Before you decide how to sell, I think you should understand your property, your options and what you're hoping to achieve from the move.

Selling your home is a major financial decision. A little planning before you go to market can make a considerable difference to both the process and the eventual outcome.

1. Start With Why You're Selling

Before we talk about price, presentation or marketing, I want to know why you're considering selling.

Are you upsizing?

Downsizing?

Relocating?

Trying to reduce your mortgage?

Moving closer to family?

Or has your current home simply stopped working for the way you live?

Your reason for selling influences many of the decisions that follow.

Sometimes, after looking at all the options, selling isn't actually the best choice.

I think that's worth knowing before you start.

2. Understand Where Your Property Sits in the Market

One of the obvious questions when you're thinking "I want to sell my house" is:

What is it actually worth in the current market?

I look at recent comparable sales, competing properties, location, land, condition, presentation, improvements and the features buyers are likely to value.

Online estimates can provide useful information, but they don't necessarily understand what makes your particular property better or worse than another home nearby.

Before making decisions involving such a significant asset, I think you deserve more than an algorithm.

3. Don't Start Renovating Before You Get Advice

This is one of the biggest things I would change about the way many homeowners prepare to sell.

They decide they're going to sell and immediately start spending money.

New kitchen.

New flooring.

New landscaping.

Painting.

Bathroom improvements.

Sometimes those improvements are worthwhile.

Sometimes they're not.

If you're planning to sell your home, the question isn't simply whether an improvement will make the property nicer.

The question is:

Will it help you achieve a better overall financial outcome?

There's very little point spending $30,000 to potentially add $20,000.

I would much rather look at the property first and identify what genuinely deserves your time and money.

4. Take Care of the Things Buyers Will Notice

Preparing your home for sale doesn't necessarily mean transforming it.

Sometimes the most important jobs are much simpler.

Peeling paint, damaged doors, overgrown gardens, broken fittings, dirty grout, dripping taps and unfinished maintenance can all affect how buyers perceive a property.

One small maintenance issue isn't usually the problem.

The problem is when buyers see several of them and start wondering what else hasn't been looked after.

I prefer to deal with obvious objections before buyers have the opportunity to make them.

5. Think About Presentation

Your home doesn't need to look like nobody lives there.

In fact, I prefer homes that still have some warmth and personality.

But buyers do need to be able to see the rooms properly and imagine themselves living there.

That may mean decluttering, moving some furniture, improving lighting, changing a few accessories or simply making better use of what you already own.

Presentation should highlight the property's strengths rather than distract from them.

I've put together more detailed advice in my Preparing Your Home for Sale guide, which is a useful next step when you're deciding what needs attention before photography and marketing.

6. Understand the Costs Before You Sell

The sale price isn't the only number that matters.

Before deciding to sell, I think homeowners should have a reasonable understanding of the likely costs involved.

Depending on your circumstances, these may include agent fees, marketing, conveyancing or legal costs, repairs, styling, moving expenses and costs associated with purchasing your next property.

If you're selling one property to buy another, you also need to think about the entire transaction rather than looking at the sale in isolation.

What matters is your overall financial position afterwards.

7. Decide on the Right Selling Strategy

There isn't one selling method that suits every property.

Auction may work extremely well for one home and make little sense for another.

The same applies to private treaty and other campaign strategies.

I look at the property, likely buyer group, local competition and current market conditions before recommending how I think it should be sold.

The strategy should suit your property and your circumstances, rather than being selected because that's simply how an agent prefers to sell everything.

8. Price Positioning Matters

How your property is positioned when it first reaches the market matters enormously.

Buyers compare properties quickly.

If the price positioning doesn't make sense against the other homes they're considering, they may simply move on.

On the other hand, I don't believe in deliberately underquoting a property simply to generate attention.

The aim should be to create genuine buyer interest while positioning the property appropriately within the current market.

9. Marketing Should Show Buyers Why Your Home Is Different

Good property marketing isn't simply putting photographs online.

What makes your property worth inspecting?

What does it offer that competing properties don't?

Who is the likely buyer?

Which features should we emphasise?

Photography, copy, online advertising and the way the property is presented should all work together.

The aim isn't simply to get your home seen.

It's to get it seen by the right buyers and give them a reason to inspect it.

10. Choosing an Agent Should Be About More Than the Highest Price

If you're interviewing agents, it's tempting to choose the person who gives you the highest suggested selling price.

I'd be careful with that.

Ask how they reached their price opinion.

Ask which comparable sales they're relying on.

Ask about their marketing strategy.

Ask how they'll communicate with you.

Ask how they negotiate once an offer arrives.

And ask what they think you should do to the property before it goes to market.

A good selling strategy should make sense when it's explained to you.

11. Have a Plan for What Happens Next

Before you sell your home, think about what happens afterwards.

Where will you live?

Are you buying before or after you sell?

Do you need a particular settlement period?

What happens if your home sells quickly?

What happens if it takes longer than expected?

Having these conversations beforehand can make the whole process considerably less stressful.

So, How Do I Sell My Home?

Start before the For Sale sign goes up.

Understand why you're selling.

Know where your property sits in the market.

Work out what is and isn't worth doing before the sale.

Understand your costs.

Then decide on the selling, pricing and marketing strategy that gives your property the best opportunity to perform.

If you're considering selling but haven't decided what to do yet, my Sell My Home page explains how I work with homeowners and what you can expect when selling with me.

You don't need to have made the decision before we talk.

In fact, I think the best time to get advice is before you've made it.