We recently noted that foreclosure inventory has decreased enough to not be a major factor to those looking to buy property this year. While that still holds true, there is a “new” kid on the real estate block ready to compete with existing home sales.
New construction is not a new player in the real estate game, but if you are looking to sell your home, a potential increase to the 16% that represented last year’s 2014 new home sales could pose a problem to your ability to sell in a reasonable timeline.
Understanding how potential home buyers shop for homes will give you a good idea of how to ready your home for sale. According to National Association of Realtors’ Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers for 2014, reasons to purchase a new home include (in order of importance to home sellers):
- Avoid Renovations or Existing Problems
- Ability to Choose and Customize Design
- Amenities of New Home Construction Communities
- Lack of Inventory of Existing Homes
- Green/Energy Efficient
While a potential buyer can’t customize your existing home design in most cases or add amenities to your community or even control existing home inventory , you can affect change on the need for renovations in your existing home or it’s energy efficiency.
* Existing home inventory currently sits below the “normal” inventory expected at the beginning of a sale season, allowing the chance for new construction to impede on existing home sales.
Make Your Existing Property a Green and Clean Home
You can control how energy efficient your home is and the amount of renovations it may need before you list it for sale. Upgrading your home or fixing existing damage and adding “green” features like solar panels or permeable pavement to your walkways and driveway are great ways to increase your chances to sell when you are competing with new construction properties.
The US Department of Energy makes it easy to assess the energy efficiency of your home with their Home Energy Audit.
At the end of the day, if you are looking to sell your home this year, you need to speak to a mortgage banker and get pre-approved. Also, speak to a realtor to understand your local housing market and the chances you have to sell based on the new construction properties you have to compete against. They will be able to guide you to the points of attention your home has that could affect its ability to sell, both positive and negative, making your home sale as easy as possible.
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