Real Estate Tips for the Summer – For Sellers and For Buyers

While the real estate market appears to slow down considerably in the summer, behind the scenes there can actually be a lot happening.

For Sellers:

If you are thinking of selling your home on the fall market, now is the perfect time to be getting your home ready.

As I write this we are almost half way through July and therefore only 6 weeks away from what is expected to be a very busy fall market.

As soon as Labour Day is over the buyers will be out in force and eager to find that perfect house. I would advise you to have your home prepared to go on the market as soon as the fall activity begins. After all, a few weeks into the fall and some of the buyers will have already bought leaving a smaller pool of property buyers left to consider your house if it comes on the market later.

If you want to be prepared, here are some things that you can be doing now.

Step 1) This is an excellent time to have a Real Estate Professional give you:

1. An opinion of the expected sale price of your home

2. Advice on minor improvements that will make a major difference in the eyes of the buyers. Such improvements might include touch up painting and minor repairs

3. Guidance on decluttering your home. We all collect too much over the years and the agent’s goal is to make your home appear as large and bright looking as possible.

4. Connect you with all of the professionals that you might need including,

• A downsizing professional if you want that service. Downsizes will help you decide whether you want to take a certain belonging with you to your new home, donate it to a good cause, or dispose of it. They will then deliver these items to the appropriate place. You will never have to deal with them again.

• A stager if desired.

• A moving company who will store the belongings that you will want in your new home but don’t want in your current home while it is on the market.

• A gardener to detail the exterior if you don’t have one of your own.

• A handyman

• A painter

• A lawyer

Etc. Etc. Etc.Whatever you need your agent will have access to it and will help you get the whole process organized for you.

Step 2) If you have adult children now is a great time to have a family get together and let the “kids” choose what they would like to take of the things that you are not planning to move with you. A word of caution – be sure to make it clear that you also expect them to take home with them everything that they have left with you from high school, university, and their first apartment – it can be notoriously difficult to get those things moved out! It often requires a deadline to see anything of their’s disappear. If you are having difficulty getting these things moved you are not alone. This is a common family difficulty.

Step 3) Once #2 above is handled you are ready to have your agent bring in all of the specialists mentioned above.

If you set a schedule of what you want to have accomplished each week, by the end of August you should be totally prepared and ready for the moment the fall market begins and it will all have been accomplished without last minute rush and stress.

For Buyers:

Although the market does slow considerably in July and August, that can in some cases be a help to buyers.

Once the summer arrives less people list their properties but those who do will have put it on the market for a very good reason and are motivated to sell. They may well be willing to take a more reasonable offer than they would have in the “hot” spring market

Also many buyers stop actively looking as their attention is on enjoying all that summer has to offer.

Put together the facts that there are most likely motivated sellers on the market at this time and less buyers to compete with, those of you who are still focused on buying a property can find yourself positioned to find a very good opportunity.

Never give up- this could be your moment.