Briskman, with over 28 years in the real estate business, said preparing your home before putting it on the housing market can raise its selling price by $10,000 to $40,000 or more.
With such a high inventory of houses on the market today, Briskman said staging along with proper pricing are the most important aspects of creating the best opportunity to make the sale and actually cut the days your house is on the market.
“Buyers tend to gravitate toward homes that look better and require less work,” she said.
Homeowners looking to sell, she said, can do a lot of the work themselves by applying a fresh coat of paint, sprucing up living areas, de-cluttering rooms and rearranging the furniture. She added that floors should be polished and windows should be washed.
Briskman said minor repairs to enhance the appearance of a house should not be expensive and, before listing a house on the market, she meets with the seller to provide suggestions for staging the home.
From there, Briskman works together with a professional stager who conducts a two-hour free “makeover” for the homeowner to do whatever is needed to enhance the home’s appearance. Further, Briskman said the seller can make arrangements to extend the professional stager’s time if more work is required.
In the past, sellers have opted to sell their houses “as is,” for a faster turnaround at a lower price. Briskman said these days, sellers need to realize that buyers don’t want to walk into a home and do a lot of work.
“The people that prepare to sell their home properly tend to have successful endings, at higher prices,” she said.
For more information, contact Sharon Bodnar Briskman at 914-329-8889.