Are you thinking of selling your Long Island home and worried you missed out on the summer market? Despite rising interest rates, we are still seeing a strong buyer presence on Long Island. Multiple offer scenarios may be less common, but buyers are seeing the opportunity of purchasing a home now and locking a comparatively low interest rate on their mortgage.
However, properties are staying on the market longer which means pre-listing preparation is more important than ever. It’s not enough to simply list your home for sale. You must take steps to ensure it’ll show in its best light. When you choose to sell with the Pesce & Lanzillotta Team, we’ll work with you to get your home ready for the market. We know what appeals to today’s home buyers – it’s one of the ways we ensure our clients sell their homes for the most money possible!
If you are looking to get ahead and start preparing your home to sell now, consider these five steps to make buyers fall in love.
Update Your Landscaping
Go beyond mowing the lawn and pulling weeds. If your landscape hasn’t been updated or refreshed in the last couple years, now is the time. It’s amazing what fresh bark, mulch, or gravel can do for a property. Trim trees and bushes so they look neat and well-manicured. Consider planting some seasonal flowers or bringing in a few potted plants to dress up your porch or entryway. Look for autumnal colors – reds, yellows, golds, and browns.
Take New Photos
If your home has been on the market before or you’ve previously had professional photos taken, it can be tempting to just use the imagery you already have. However, we work with excellent photographers and videographers who truly know how to showcase a home in the right light. We will determine what type(s) of media would be best for your home, from daytime, sunset, and night photography to aerials, drone video, and 3D tours.
Capture the Changing Seasons
While every home looks great in the late spring and summer when the grass is green and flowers are in bloom, don’t overlook the potential of autumn and winter. Seeing a home during the colder seasons can strike just the right notes of warmth, coziness, and comfort. No matter what the season, we work with our photographers and videographers to determine the right day to capture your property based on the weather. You don’t have to wait for spring to sell!
Stage Your Home to Sell
Although it can be challenging if you’re still living in your home, staging can go a long way toward helping buyers successfully imagine themselves living in your property. Our professional stagers use high-end furnishings and décor that is current and on-trend. Additionally, depersonalizing your home is a must. Temporarily remove family photos, toys, artwork, and crafts. The goal is for a buyer to feel as if they’ve stepped into a model home. Once you’re moved into your new property, you can unpack and proudly display these items again.
However, if physically staging or decluttering your home just isn’t a possibility, virtual staging services do exist! While it can’t duplicate the effects of seeing real furniture in a room, virtual staging is proven to help buyers reimagine a space as their own with new furniture and décor.
Consider Open Houses
Open houses aren’t a fit for every seller, but if you’re at all considering them, fall is a great time to do it! With so many holidays coming up, many people have extra time off of work to go look at properties. Additionally, themed open houses can be fun and get buyers excited about living in your home.
As we creep closer to the holidays, you may be tempted to keep your home off the market in order to decorate for the season, but tasteful, simple holiday decorations in listed homes can go a long way. Seeing a home with a table set for Thanksgiving, a Christmas wreath on the door, or a Hanukkah menorah on the mantle can help buyers imagine celebrating here with their own families next year. Just make sure your decorations aren’t overpowering your home’s special and unique features.
Do you have questions about the Long Island real estate market? Wondering if now is the right time for you to sell? Please give us a call or contact us anytime to discuss your next steps with the Pesce & Lanzillotta Team!
The Pesce & Lanzillotta Team, at BHHS Laffey International Realty
Office: 516-888-9711
Email: info@pl-team.com
