Denver is one of the hottest residential real estate markets in the country. Low housing inventory and high demand have made the Mile High City undeniably a seller’s market, where bidding wars are common and buyers need to bring more to the table than ever before.
As the spring selling season ramps up, homeowners should be ready to adopt certain practices to ensure a swift and simple sale of their property. Besides setting a competitive listing price, there are a variety of things homeowners can do to make the selling process as smooth and satisfying as possible.
We asked real estate agents in the Denver area who, according to Agent Ace, an agent referral company and a U.S. News partner, routinely outsell the competition for advice for selling a Denver home quickly. Here’s what they had to say.
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Spring clean for success. Many sellers are wary of spending money on a house they aren’t planning to live in much longer, but certain small investments to make a home look and feel fresh will have a worthwhile impact on the listing. Deviree Vallejo, an agent with Kentwood City Properties in downtown Denver, suggests focusing improvements on items that affect the largest surface areas of the home, like putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls or re-surfacing hardwood floors. “Cosmetic items like adding paint or removing carpet will pay off 100 percent,” she says. “Pay the money upfront to make the house look shiny and new.”
Spring is also an ideal time to spruce up a home’s curb appeal to make it eye-catching. Tasks like trimming trees, planting flowers and painting the front door can be completed in a weekend and have a huge impact, as potential homebuyers often spend several minutes upon arrival standing outside the front door while waiting for the agent to get the key out of the lockbox. “First impressions are important,” Vallejo stresses.
Stage the ideal atmosphere. Sellers should understand the importance of creating an inviting atmosphere in their home to help potential buyer’s envision the space as their own. Sometimes, that means replacing family photos or heirloom furniture pieces with more updated, generic items that evoke a sense of newness and optimism. Staging is also great way to help a space that may be somewhat cramped feel more spacious.
Cherry Creek Properties agent Vivi Gloriod agrees and says she stages all of her homes. After taking over a listing in South Denver that sat on the market for almost six months with another agent, Gloriod sold the home in just two weeks for a higher price, a success she partly accredits to proper staging. “The very first thing I did was stage it,” she says. “Then I did high-definition photos and videos for marketing materials.”
When staging your home, keep in mind that one of the top reasons people want to live in Denver is to enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery. “It’s wise to also stage your backyard and patio spaces,” Vallejo advises. Even sprucing up a small balcony or rooftop patio is sure to enhance a buyer’s vision of an outdoor lifestyle.
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Choose the right real estate agent. All agents interviewed maintain that finding the right Denver real estate agent is crucial to a successful home selling process. Choosing a listing agent that has a high success rate selling similar homes and ample knowledge about the area is mandatory. “Be sure to ask them how many homes they’ve sold in the past six months, and also how many of those homes were located in your neighborhood,” Gloriod advises.
Agents who are familiar with your neighborhood understand that the success of certain marketing methods can vary depending on a home’s location. Gloriod mentioned that while some neighborhoods, like Washington Park, are great for public open houses because of their walkability, areas like Lakewood that are not as pedestrian-friendly may benefit more from broker open houses, or events that showcase a home to other real estate agents.
Amy Ryan, an agent with Re/Max Momentum in Commerce City explained that the process of homebuying and selling is like being in a relationship with your agent, due to the amount of time you spend together during that period of time and how emotional the process can be. “You need to like them and connect with them,” Ryan says. “Be sure to talk to a variety of agents. Even if you think you’ve found one you want to use, go interview a few more anyway.”
Flaunt the neighborhood. Millennials make up one of the largest groups of homebuyers in Denver, and one of the top items on their wish list is neighborhood accessibility. “The number one request right now for people in Denver is walkability,” Vallejo says. Millennials want to live within easy reach of restaurants, bars, parks and public transportation. Denver has more than 200 neighborhoods, each with their own attributes and allure. Be sure to showcase all of the attractions that make your neighborhood great, whether it’s new bike lanes or a hot new restaurant.
Since Denver is fairly spread out, proximity to the city’s expanding light rail system is a huge plus. Vallejo affirms, “I am definitely seeing an influx of people towards transit-oriented development areas like Sunnyside and RiNO (River North).” Proximity to public transit also ensures a future increase in property values, which can be a strong selling point.
[See: 10 Ways Millennials Are Changing Homebuying.]
Drum up demand with “Coming Soon” marketing. You may want your house to go on the market immediately, but you must allow time for your real estate agent to assess the home properly, check past tax records, arrange for necessary staging, take good quality photos (and possibly even videos) and pique buyer interest before the property officially becomes available. Gloriod calls this tactic “Coming Soon Marketing” and believes it diminishes the amount of time a house sits on the market. By the time the house is available for showings there should already be a high demand for it. Aside from a lack of staging, she says lack of proper marketing is another reason the South Denver home sat on the market too long. “Coming soon marketing is huge,” Gloriod says.
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5 Ways to Sell Your Denver Home Fast originally appeared on usnews.com
