How do you get your home "tour" ready? That is the question. And while the answer still centers on the age-old premises of cleaning and decluttering, some of the strategies and techniques for Tampa and St. Pete home sellers have transformed over the past few years.
You need to move fast. Let people know. Get your real estate agent involved. Show that your house can be the foundation for the next owner's legacy. Each of those are vital pieces to the puzzle.
Some of the changes—that transformation—come as a result of the recent pandemic. So while you can still have prospective buyers stroll through an open house, the whole home tour process continues to move more digital.
More real estate agents are doing virtual tours, which rely heavily on social media, streaming services, and videoconferencing tools that allow agents to showcase your home tour across multiple channels (think Zoom, Facebook Live, YouTube, etc.).
That doesn't mean the in-person home tours are a thing of the past. On the contrary, most prospective home buyers are not going to buy a house without seeing it, which means you have to prepare for both ways.
While a virtual tour gives prospective buyers an overview of your home, some are still going to walk through and open doors and drawers, look in closets, test the water pressure, etc. So, what the camera doesn't show, the in-person walk-in does.
Whether you go live or virtual, the key is to follow the standard tenets of home tours. With Tampa and St. Pete among the hottest real estate markets in the country, the competition to get eyes on your home will be aggressive.
If your home is one of those that offer many of the qualities that today's homeowners want—location, plenty of space, good school districts, etc.—you will want to step up your game, which means giving the people what they want.
Here's a snapshot of what you can do:
Get Ready to Show
Remember what we said earlier: clean and declutter. Put away all those things that make your home personal to you. Decorations. Extra blankets on the sofa or beds. You want to provide a taste of what the house will look like without it being yours.
Show off the Best Qualities
If you want to sell your home, wow your visitors. The extra big family room. The pool and spa. The in-house bar. Showcase your countertops, floors, and anything else that wows you. Everyone has different tastes, but they all want a house that will be a home.
Transparency Matters
No home is perfect, so be open to answering honest questions about the house and its surroundings. Every buyer wants to make informed decisions, so giving intel on things like building materials, traffic in and out of the neighborhood, etc. Honesty is respected.
Go with the Flow
If you are going virtual, make sure you take prospective buyers on a tour as close to the actual experience of walking the house in person. Take them from the front door and walk the home room by room, showcasing how the home flows.
Your Agent is Your Ally
Staging your home takes the touch of those who have done it before. They know the ins and outs of what people are looking for. Let your agent take the lead and work together to showcase the best qualities.
In the end, you want traffic, feedback, and leads. You want to know what people like, what they would have liked, and what it will take to get them excited.
Posted by Smith & Associates Real Estate on
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