The value of your property is determined by many different factors such as location, distance to good schools, proximity to the MRT or bus interchange, accessibility to major expressways and roads, nearby amenities and even the surrounding developments in your area.
Unfortunately, most of these factors are not within your control.
The good news is, apart from these external factors, there are many other controllable factors that can and will affect how buyers perceive the value of your property.
Listed below are the 4 steps you should take before you consider listing your property on the market.
Clear Up The Clutter
Have you ever went into an unkempt house and immediately found it repulsive? I thought so.
Clutter. Clutter Everywhere.
Without a doubt, cluttered up houses repel genuine home buyers. That means the only people who will possibly make an offer for your property are bargain hunters who will never pay you top dollar.
Clutter comes in many forms.
- Random books and files lying around your coffee table, dining table and desks
- Laundry and linen on your sofa
- Kids’ toys strewn all over the floor
- Haphazard filing in your cabinets
- Too many soft toys on your beds
- Too many decorative ornaments
- Etc.
Eliminating these obstacles will definitely allow the buyer to appreciate your home in a more positive light and encourage them to make the offer.
Thoroughly Clean Your House
Every house comes with its fair share of cobwebs, food stains and random litter. No buyer likes to witness these things around so be sure to remove all of them and make your house look as inviting as possible.
Consider engaging a professional cleaner if it is too much of a hassle to do it yourself. The difference it makes to your house can be very substantial.
Conduct An Audit Of Your Property
When was the last time you really inspected every nook and cranny of your house? Keep an open mind and take a tour around your own house to really inspect and take notes on each potential strength and weakness. You might even be surprised at your findings!
Look out for,
- Cracks/Holes in the walls
- Damaged tiles
- Peeled off paint
- Signs of leaking in the bathrooms
- Corrosion/rust of metal pipes
- Broken toilet seats
- Etc.
Treat yourself as a potential buyer purchasing your first home and you would do just fine.
Once you are able to spot these flaws, your next goal would be to eliminate them as much as possible. Damaged tiles can be replaced, leaking pipes can be fixed and walls can be coated with a fresh coat of paint.
When buyers walk through a property, they are typically on the lookout for defects; reasons to justify their offer (if any).
If there is very little for them to nit-pick on, not only will your property leave a very lasting positive first impression on them, they might even feel embarrassed to come up with a low-ball offer for your unit!
Turn Your House Into A Showroom
Have you wondered why developers marketing a new launch condominium spend so much money and effort on their showrooms?
It is because they know that an impressive showroom positively affects the buyer’s emotions and allows them to feel right at home the moment they step into the show unit.
Creating an environment where buyers are inclined to be in a positive state will make your unit outshine the competition.
If you have noticed, most successful showrooms share some common traits which you can borrow to increase the value of your unit.
- They use neutral colours such as white, off-white and light grey as colour themes.
Your home might be personalized to your liking, but it may not be to the buyer’s preferences. De-personalizing your home creates a wider acceptance in the minds of buyers.
Painting your walls using neutral colours not only makes your entire house feel brand new, it also makes your rooms look relatively more spacious.
In fact, this inexpensive ‘upgrade’ is one of the most underrated yet cost-efficient methods to add more dollars to your final selling price. Be sure to use this.
- They smell great
Successful showrooms smell like a million bucks, especially those of high-end new launch condominiums. Tantalize the buyer’s senses by incorporating pleasant and soothing smells in your unit.
Select refreshing scents that elevate the mood of your buyers.
This will effectively differentiate your unit from any other unit in the market as this method is very rarely used by sellers and agents.
- They use elegant furniture
If your furniture looks like it belong to the 70’s era, chances are, it won’t put a smile on the buyer’s face.
Furniture plays an integral role in bringing out the charm of a unit. Elegant furniture does not have to be expensive. Renting tasteful furniture can also be an option to drastically increase the value of your house or unit.
Seek professional assistance from interior designers if you are lost on which furniture to choose from. It will be money well spent.
- They have soft and soothing music playing in the background
The best showrooms always have music playing in the background to engage the buyer’s senses. It also has the effect of elevating the property’s perceived status.
- They look bright and inviting
Light accentuates the positive vibes around a house and almost all buyers love viewing a well-lit unit. Consider swapping out old or yellow tinted light bulbs with newer bulbs emitting white light as it brightens up the entire unit, making your house look livelier.
If your property is endowed with natural light, be sure to open the windows and draw back the curtains to allow it into your unit.
The key to increasing and maximizing the value of your house lies with how you manage the buyers’ perceived value of your unit. These simple-to-do ‘upgrades’ will definitely enhance the value and quality of buyer offers.
If you would like to have more ideas on how to increase the value of your property, please do not hesitate to contact us by clicking here.