What kind of attitude will give you an edge to meet and exceed your real estate goals in 2025? Let’s look at some of the more common goals to figure that out. First, let’s look at sellers.
If you’re a seller whose goal is a fast and easy sale for the best current market price:
- Be aggressive, be proactive, and be competitive! Deep clean your property from top to bottom. This will cause your property to stand head and shoulders above the competition!
- Get a home inspection and plan to fix everything. You will avoid the haggling and crazy inspection items that can appear in a buyers’ inspection report. It’s a win-win. No surprises for you and no scared buyers later.
- Price it right on the money – not high, not low – but right where the market analysis puts it. 9 times out of 10 a house sells for this price or somewhat higher because most property competing with you is priced to negotiate and sellers are still in “Covid price land” when everything was roughly double in price. So again, be an exception, and you will stand out as the clear winner.
- Lastly, stay flexible and positive! You are going to have a great sale!
If you are not in a hurry or are enjoying making money with your property as vacation rental, that’s okay, too. Be aware that you will need to ask for a bit less than the market value if the property needs updates that you aren’t willing to make yourself in order to get the right offer from a serious buyer. Otherwise, you may find yourself getting no offers or offers that you consider to be “lowball.” Before Covid, the philosophy was that your first offer was your best offer, and that is likely to be true again as we move out of the season of multiple competing offers the day the for-sale sign goes up.
Next, let’s look at buyers’ common goals.
If you’re a buyer whose goal is to invest in an excellent property, whether for a second home/investment or as a primary residence home for your family:
- Approach it with a plan. Ask the following questions and find a property that meets your criteria.
- Decide the top priority. This needs to be the non-negotiable item (or 2) in your list of goals. Know what the property must have and do not look at any property that does not meet this priority. You’ll just be wasting your time looking at a home you’re not going to love.
- List the next 2 to 5 items that are important but that you can be flexible on. Find a group of properties that have these characteristics and check them out first.
- Do not try to decide on a property before you have an opportunity to visit several. When you find yourself comparing the property you’re touring to the one you saw earlier, then you’ll know you’ve found the one you want. Stay flexible, as you may need to adjust your list of expectations.
- Sort out the characteristics that cannot be changed from the items that can be. Don’t let items that are easily changed cause you to miss out on what you want. These can include the color of the house, the fact it doesn’t have a deck, the outdated lighting fixtures, an outdated fiberglass jacuzzi tub, kitchen appliances, or old carpet. Also, understand what can’t be easily changed. These are things like the location, the setting, the neighbors, the 100-year-old trees, or the steep driveway.
- Don’t let some of the items that can be changed cause you to miss out on a great property that checks all your important boxes. Make a list of what needs to be changed for you to love it, whether that’s new flooring, new paint, or new appliances. Remember, you can ask the sellers to make concessions. So, instead of paying your own closing costs, ask the sellers to pay them and you use your cash to make the changes. Arrange to have these changes the day after you close and before you move in. Ask us, your real estate agents, for connections to get these items done. We can always help you navigate this refresh of your home.
With these tips in mind, you are ready to move forward with your real estate goals! 2025 is going to be a great year for real estate opportunities. We look forward to helping you find your win!
