As we see in the news that home sales are not at their best and that a possible recession is looming, official data points to an increase in business activity compared to 2021.
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The final figures are still missing, and they will be released at the end of the second quarter of the year. What I can tell you is that of all these surgeries, less than 20% were between individuals. And I’m not surprised.
Selling a house is easier than it seems, but more complex than many think. Let me explain.
Each moment, each era has a different impact on the real estate market, forcing us to adapt.
A few years ago the flats were selling like churros. The prices did not stop rising and the banks did not think much about it when it came to mortgage loans.
In those times when supply matched or fell short of demand, speed and transparency were key to selling an apartment or a house.
Flats were advertised in newspapers, large banners hung from balconies, and mailboxes were filled with real-estate magazines promoting 100% mortgages plus utilities and free cars and trips with home purchase.
That era is over, and not too well. Now the supply is higher than the demand and if we want to find buyers for our home we have to make it stand out from the rest.
Is it a good time to sell as an individual?
Yes and no. On the one hand, thanks to the Internet, it is very easy for individuals to advertise a house.
Until the appearance of real estate portals, anyone who wanted to advertise their property had to pay for an advertisement in the press and trust the effectiveness of the poster placed on the balcony.
Now you can place an advertisement on the Internet and publish your house on portals such as Fotocasa or Habitaclia, which are visited by thousands of potential buyers every day.
Even if you post a photo of your apartment for sale on a social network like Facebook, your friends, friends of friends and their acquaintances will see it.
It seems logical to think that selling an apartment as an individual has become something easy and accessible thanks to the internet.
The problem is that along with your house, hundreds of owners, real estate agents and other intermediaries fight every day to get their properties seen by potential buyers.
And therein lies the difficulty. There are far more homes for sale than there are buyers, and once you place your ad, it will be buried under hundreds of others in minutes.
At Vivendis we invest thousands of euros in advertising every month to place our clients’ properties in the top positions.
This gives us many more visits and triples the chances of getting an offer. That is why our average sales time is less than 90 days.
However, I realize that not everyone is willing (or able) to pay brokerage fees.
That’s why I decided to create this guide with 19 tips to help you sell your non-real estate home. I hope it helps you.
10 tips for selling an apartment as an individual
Think carefully about the price at which you are going to sell
You need a market appraisal on your home. And you need it before you start selling: the initial price can mean the difference between success and failure.
Do not lose objectivity in the calculation. It is normal for us to get carried away by our most emotional side and set the price based on our personal perception.
It is also common to set the sale price according to the money we need for a project or for the new house we want to buy.
Believe me when I tell you that this is the worst strategy. A real estate appraisal must be objective, realistic and up-to-date.
If you have doubts about how to calculate the real price of your property, you can contact the real estate agencies in your area. Most of them offer free reviews.
Avoid raising the price and then lowering it
The phrase “It’s time to lower the price if it doesn’t sell” may sound familiar to you.
I won’t lie to you: it can work. But in most cases, setting a price above the market price and waiting for an offer has the opposite effect than expected.
Potential buyers today use real estate portals to find an apartment. In fact, almost 70% of sales in 2018 were made through one of these portals.
The problem is that these potential buyers use filters in their searches. If your house is priced above the average market price, they won’t even see it.
Invest in some good photos
If you’re good at photography, congratulations, this is the perfect opportunity to try interior photography.
If not, I advise you to use the services of a professional photographer.
Investing in good photos is one of the best decisions you can make when selling your property.
You need quality photos that show the best of your home without exaggerating the proportions.
On the internet, a picture is worth a thousand words, and photos of your home will help you grab the attention of potential buyers.
Write a good description
It is not the same to say “apartment with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with a garage for sale” than “a spacious house with 1 double bedroom with space for a wardrobe, bedside tables and a large bed, 2 large single bedrooms with fitted wardrobes and garage space within the same building with space for a large Seat León car”.
The description should help the viewer get a clear picture of your apartment.
Include details that are hard to see in photos, highlight what’s important, and explain to the viewer what makes your home special.
Choose only the best real estate portals
A few well-made ads in the best real estate portals are better than many bad ads in all the free internet portals.
Fotocasa, Habitalia or Idealista are some of the most important. Try them out, see if they work for you, and if you don’t get results, switch.
Most real estate portals have the option of publishing only one ad for free for individuals. So it will not cost you anything to try.
Loading an ad takes some time. Fill in all the fields, attach enough photos and prepare a good description.
Use social networks
If you have a Facebook account, post your home listing for your friends to see.
Encourage them to share it and give it a like. In this way you get the social network to show your property to more people around you.
Have all the documents ready
One of the most important aspects before, during and after the sale of a property is documentation.
The certificate of habitability, the energy efficiency certificate or the deeds of your home are just some of the necessary, even mandatory, papers that will accompany you throughout the process.
Having them prepared will save you time, build trust with your potential buyers, and avoid last-minute unpleasant surprises.
Respond to all inquiries
As soon as your home listings go live and everything goes well, you’ll start receiving inquiries from prospective clients.
Some people will write to you just to ask you a question and others will ask you to visit them. Do not leave any request unanswered.
It may now seem to you that some of the contacts you receive are just curious or not really interested.
But in my experience, you never know who will end up being the future new owner of your home. So reply to everyone, and fast.
Don’t use your private phone
They have been taking calls and answering emails all week. But Sunday arrives and you want to rest and disconnect.
If you have used your private number in advertisements, you will continue to receive calls and messages.
If, on the other hand, you buy a cheap mobile (available for 20 euros) and put a prepaid card on it, you can turn it off at any time.
Of course, use the answering machine to leave a message saying: We can be reached again on Monday.
Do not create false expectations: be realistic
Wenn Sie einen Anruf erhalten oder jemand Ihnen über Immobilienportale eine Frage stellt, antworten Sie wahrheitsgemäß.
Wenn sie Sie nach dem Licht im Schlafzimmer fragen und dies innen und dunkel ist, sagen Sie es. Andernfalls, wenn sie in die Wohnung kommen und sehen, dass Sie nicht die Wahrheit gesagt haben, entsteht eine unangenehme Situation, die Sie lösen müssen.
Wenn Sie wissen, dass etwas verschüttet wird und dies zusätzliche Kosten für die Käufer bedeutet, teilen Sie dies mit.
Die Wahrheit zu sagen, kann zu einer Einigung führen, aber wenn Sie lügen und sie es herausfinden, werden Sie wahrscheinlich die Gelegenheit verpassen, Ihr Haus zu verkaufen.
Dies sind nur ein paar Beispiele, aber die allgemeine Regel lautet, zumindest meiner Meinung nach, immer die Wahrheit und nichts als die Wahrheit zu sagen.