How to Sell Your Home in a Hot Market
Is… Is This a Battle Plan?
Learn effective strategies to sell your home quickly and at a desirable price in a competitive market.
Discover tips to enhance curb appeal, stage your home, set the right price, leverage online marketing, and work with a knowledgeable real estate agent.
Gain insights on how to stand out from the competition and attract potential buyers in a hot real estate market.
Selling your home in a hot real estate market can be a exhilarating. It can get very intense. With numerous properties trying to get the attention of potential buyers, you need to have a strategy for bringing your market ready home to the market.
In this article, we'll provide you with valuable tips to maximize your chances of selling your home quickly and at a desirable price.
To sell your home in a hot market for top dollar, focus on enhancing curb appeal, staging your home effectively, pricing it competitively, leveraging online marketing platforms, and partnering with a knowledgeable real estate agent who understands the market dynamics and can help you navigate through the process with expertise.
Get Your Home Ready!
We know this isn’t going to be news… First impressions matter, especially when it comes to selling your home. Improving your property's curb appeal can significantly increase its attractiveness to potential buyers. On trend accessories and plantings can smooth over any rough edges in your exterior.
So make sure your front yard is well-maintained and tidy. If you can’t mow your lawn, schedule to have someone do it – preferably earlier in the day. Repaint the front door and your shutters. If a good power washing doesn’t help, consider adding a fresh coat of paint to the entire exterior.
Overgrown shrubs reek of deferred maintenance and a poorly kept home. Trim your bushes – preferably in the prior season if you are able. If you don’t know how, get an expert to do it. Plant colorful flowers in pots to create an inviting atmosphere. Keep them watered while the home is on the market.
Repair any visible exterior damage, such as cracked pathways or loose shingles. If you have a chimney that you use regularly but haven’t gotten it cleaned in a while – now is that time.
If you’re looking to do some renovations, check out our article on Renovations Buyers are Begging For.
Go ‘Coming Soon’ Status
Our local MLS allows homes to go into a ‘Coming Soon’ status. It only shows to agents and their clients who have automated MLS searches. This gets buyers ready to see your home, and prepared as to when it’s going active. Some homes go active on the wrong day of the week. If a buyer is trying to purchase in your neighborhood they might miss it. Coming soon status gives buyers time to schedule their viewing.
Pro Tip: If you plan to put your home in a ‘Coming Soon” status, then your home needs to be flawless on the outside. It’s because as soon as that goes into the system you will have buyers doing slow drive-by of your house. You might even have people peeking in your windows, and knocking on your door.
You don’t want anything outside to give the buyers concerns. For example. I know of a home that had their outside ready but felt they had two weeks to get the inside ready. So potential buyers (read: my clients) drove by to see a pile of 40 trash bags, drywall rubbish and what looked like carpeting in segments.
It gave my buyers enough concern that they were trying to cover up something, and as a result they weren’t as aggressive in their offer. Turns out there was damage on that home. Lesson here is that when your home is about to go into the MLS, it needs to be show ready with only small exceptions.
Stage Your Home
Staging your home can help potential buyers envision themselves living in the space. Declutter each room to create a sense of space and cleanliness. Declutter means removing a majority of things, but not everything from your home. The goal is to show off space and make things feel comfortable.
To do that quickly, remove very personal items, such as family photographs and excessive decorations. Minimalism shows as spacious. Rearrange your furniture to create a more open and inviting layout. There are layouts that work for living, and there are other that work better to show off a space. You want the second choice.
That means moving a favored armchair from directly in front of a TV to a more natural spot in a corner. Staging sells homes. So if you need help, ask your Realtor. I personally stage every home we list. And this is after our company stagers go through a home. The point is that we want to highlight and accentuate your positives to have people clamoring to buy your home.
Don’t forget to make sure your home smells like profits… How to Keep Your Home Smelling Great.
Set the Right Price
Determining the appropriate listing price for your home is crucial. Have your agent show your the data on comparable properties in your area. Understand what you expect the market value should be. Then understand you and the data could be wrong. Never assume, and never be over confident.
I always try to price a home slightly under what I believe the market value is for a home. It brings in more buyers, which brings us better offers, and it helps us get the best terms. Your pricing strategy shouldn’t be just about price.
Leverage Online Marketing
In today's digital age, online marketing plays a vital role in selling your home. Maximize your online presence. The absolute best way to do that is by listing on the MLS. The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is the private database that lists properties for sale. It is where companies like Zillow and Redfin get their data from.
Licensed agents with established brokerages have access to it through and can list properties. It is the best way to sell your home online. Read that last sentence again with emphasis please… It is the best way to attract the most serious buyers.
To do that you are going to need high-quality, professional photographs that showcase your home. Have an engaging and informative listing description written that highlights the unique aspects of your property.
Consider having a virtual tour or video walkthrough to provide a comprehensive view of your home. These have grown in popularity during Covid. Before 2020 they were used in maybe a handful of homes. Today these virtual walkthroughs and 3D tours are almost a must.
Work with a Knowledgeable Real Estate Agent
Work with an experienced, reputable real estate agent who understands your local market. I can’t say that enough. An experienced agent will be able to discuss marketing strategies, and the local market. Me and my wife have personally helped our clients save money through the transaction that was much more than our commission. A good agent will do that.
Be Prepared to Move
This sounds like it’s a funny joke at the bottom of the article… but it’s not. If you’re serious about selling your home you need to be able to accept a check and walk away quickly. Start developing your plan to move to your next home or short-term residence before you go live. If you are selling in an active market you might be surprised how fast it moves.
Sell Your Home in a Hot Market
Selling your home in a competitive market requires careful planning and execution.
By focusing on enhancing curb appeal, staging your home, setting the right price you going to putting yourself in the right position to attract the most eyeballs online. Work with a knowledgeable real estate agent and utilize professionals when you can to get the job done right.
Remember, each step you take to make your home stand out can greatly influence potential buyers' decision-making process. Good luck with your home sale!
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