How Costa Mesa Real Estate Sellers Beat the Competition

As a homeseller in today’s Costa Mesa real estate market, you certainly know that the tides have changed. Your competition has increased four times from what it was a brief couple of months ago. And while sales prices have also increased in the past months, there is a stabilization going on in the market today. A small plateau in prices.

 

So here you are – faced with the competition you had hoped to avoid in order to catch your golden ring in the bidding war market.

 

An increasing Costa Mesa real estate inventory level is putting pressure on sellers to go back to the tactics that have worked so well for so many Orange County homesellers for so long. Here’s a reminder of the top three sales strategies for success in a healthy real estate market:

 

 

1. Stage your house to show and sell. This is a huge sacrifice. You actually have to turn your property from something you are comfortable living in into something you are trying to sell. And in today’s Costa Mesa real estate market, you are now up against some competition, so you may have to work extra hard to make sure you put your best foot forward. That means the De’s are back in town. De-clutter. A definite must. De-collect. (You remember the Golden Rule – more than three of anything equals a collection and MUST be packed away.) De-Zooitize. Your pets stink. Whether you notice it or not, they do. Bathe them more regularly. Use that spray that freshens the smell of everything. De-personalize. All the museum-quality displays of your family history must come off the walls, the shelves, the mantle, and the counters. Take the photos down and pack them. You’re moving, remember?

 

 

2. Leave when agents bring their buyers to view your house. Really. Seriously. You need to leave. And take your little dog with you. On at least four occasions in the last week I have been out with extremely well qualified and motivated buyers to look at homes they could actually buy, only to find Mr. or Miss helpful home owner there to give us the grand tour. Ugggghhhh…. Just take the gun out now and shoot yourself in the foot. Hello, homesellers. Buyers feel creepy enough going into the house you are living in to see if they want to take it from you and move in. It is not generally helpful at all to have you hovering about to show all of the extra special features and custom decorating details. It limits the candid conversation the buyers can have with each other, and puts a complete cone of silence on me as their agent to figure out how to help them see past your tragic decorating choices. Or lack of decorating at all. Please leave.

 

3. Clean. Clean, and clean again. 🙂 Clean your carpets, your oven, your windows, your window sills, your window blinds, your window shutters, your drapes, your cat box, your counters, your front door, your garage floor, your cabinet doors where years of fingers have clasped, your shaggy palm trees, your overgrown garden, your wasp nests, your spider webs, your rain gutters, and your door jambs. Clean until your house sparkles. That’s a big way to outstep the Costa Mesa real estate competition!

 

Check the list above at least twice and do the work you need to do and I predict you’ll get your home sold twice as fast as your competition.

 

Need suggestions or help with Costa Mesa real estate selling or staging? Contact Colin Delaney at (714) 743-9882 or email him.