Step 13 to Selling Your Home: Week 1 on the Market

During the first week on the market, the two very important metrics we keep a close eye on are:

Number of Showings

Our goal is to have between 5 – 10 showings, depending on the time of the year, the first week your home is on the market. If we don’t have at least 5 showings we have a problem and either the marketing/photography is bad or we’re not priced correctly. If this occurs we need to have an honest discussion about what needs to be fixed.  After the first week, our goal is to have 3 – 4 showings each week thereafter.  Depending on the feedback we’re receiving at showings and the number of showings, we may need to talk about reducing the price if we don’t have an offer after the first 2-4 weeks (again, this depends on the market).

The MLS Stats

Another important metric we closely monitor is the MLS stats. During our first week on the market, we'll send you these stats every few days. Our goal is to have at least 350 people receive your listing via the MLS, indicating that your home matches the search criteria they are looking for in a property. If the number falls below 350, it suggests that not many people are currently looking for a home like yours, and the potential buyer pool is relatively small. In such a case, we'll need to explore how we can expand the number of people who might be interested in your home.

Most people's search in the MLS is based on 8 main criterias, which they consider deal breakers: location (which we can't change), number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, parking availability, central AC, in-unit laundry and price. For example, if your condo unit doesn't have its own private laundry within the unit, we can add to the listing remarks where the laundry is located for the building - whether it is next door, down the hall or in the basement of the same building. Similarly, we can consider creating an additional bedroom if feasible or adding a shed outback for additional storage.

In addition to looking at the number of people receiving your search, we also look at the number of people who have marked your property as Interested as well as the number of people who have marked your property as a Maybe. Our goal is to have 20 Interested markings and 20 Maybe markings at the end of the first week.  Generally that’s a good indication that your property will sell in the first 30 days it’s on the market.

So what happens if the metrics on my home are less than the above desired stats?

First, please don't get discouraged. Remember our discussion about the average days on market in your area when you start to feel discouraged. This process doesn't happen overnight. It takes time, but eventually, we will find the right buyer for your home.

Second, keeping your home clean and tidy and approving as many showing requests as possible when they do come in is crucial. The more showings we have, the better the potential of getting an offer.

Third, we need to take a close look at what we can do to improve the chances of your property selling. There are four important parts to the selling process: location of the property, condition of the property, the marketing/photography, and most importantly, the price.

1. We can’t change the location as it is what it is.
2. For the condition of the property, ask yourself if there is anything you can do to improve the condition/staging of the home to make it more attractive to potential buyers?  If the staging/condition is as good as it can possibly be, then we need to look at the marketing/photography.
3. How do the photos looks? Anything we can improve in the description of your home in the MLS, on Trulia, Zillow, etc?
4. If the above three items are as good as they can possibly be then the only thing we can change is the price.  Remember, buyers tend to search in $25K increments so to hit the next biggest group of buyers we need to be below the next $25K threshold.  Therefore, if your home is listed at $485,000 we should drop the price to $475,000 to try and hit the next buyer group.  Unfortunately, $2,000 and $3,000 price reductions aren’t enough.  Price reductions need to be substantial (at least $5K – $10K) to make any difference.

Fourth, can we add a monetary incentive to encourage buyers to put an offer in on your home? Perhaps a closing cost credit if the property is under contract by a certain date. Or we can offer an incentive to the buyer’s agent such as a bonus if the property is under contract by a certain date. As sad as it is, these tactics really work.