To Sell a Home Fast, Keep These Points in Mind

Nashville’s WKRN tackled a topic that I think is really important for anyone who’s thinking about selling a home in Nashville: “Why some Nashville homes are staying on the market longer.”

One immediate takeaway: Even in a hot real estate market like Nashville’s, some homes fly off the market, and others hang around a little longer. That may seem obvious, but plenty of people assume that any home in the Nashville area will sell, and sell fast.

WKRN chatted with Sher Powers, president of the Greater Nashville REALTORS, and she made some great points that I’d like to expand on. Including the broader picture:

Selling a home, in Nashville and everywhere else, is a bespoke process.

To set up a home for a successful, fast sale, the best approach is always a custom one: having an experienced, informed REALTOR who knows the market assessing the home, the property, and the neighborhood, and developing a tailored marketing plan for that home, at that moment.

There are trends, and there are commonalities, but those are just part of what goes into a marketing plan.

A few key things I think about when I’m working with a Nashville home seller:

Setting the stage for happy buyers

Some pieces of home-selling prep are evergreen — deep cleaning, decluttering and depersonalizing never go out of style.

But even before that basic pre-market prep, I’d encourage you to think about small upgrades and repairs that can or should be made.

Fresh paint makes such a massive difference in making a home sell faster, because buyers immediately feel like the home was well cared for. Taking care of deferred maintenance is important as well.

Little wall cracks and nail pops, doors that don’t close right, leaky faucets — these feel like minuscule issues when you’re living in a home, but when you’re considering buying that home, they look like glaring hints at bigger problems. They look like neglect.

Walking through your home, pre-listing, with an experienced REALTOR, you’ll get trained eyes pointing out those seemingly little but actually really impactful issues, so you can make a game plan to remove hangups before buyers walk through the door.

A good REALTOR can also point out worthwhile upgrades to make — changing out light fixtures, or staging certain spaces — that won’t require you to put in more than you’ll get back.

Setting the right price

Many Nashville home sellers struggle here. You hear so much about the hot real estate market in Nashville, and maybe a home around the block sold last year for $20K over asking inside of a week. Somewhat understandably, it all colors your perception of what your home should sell for.

That’s why I go into deep, deep detail about this when I’m talking with clients. Mis-pricing your home is what most often kills time, and when you’re trying to sell your home fast, you need to aim for the sweet spot.

Deep detail is essential for getting this right. We’re not just looking at recent comps of a similar size on your side of town. We need to look at how the market’s moving right now, in your immediate vicinity. We need to dig into the finishes in your home and how they compare with really close comps. We need to consider the age of your major systems, the good and bad about your property, what you have in terms of parking and perks, and on and on.

An experienced Nashville REALTOR takes every aspect of your home into account and calculates carefully, coming up with a listing price that places you among the most appealing homes in your price range, in your area. That’s the sweet spot, and that’s a driver toward selling a home fast.

Setting your expectations

Important to remember: In a busy real estate market like Nashville’s, you’ll still see very different experiences across different price points.

If you’re selling a Nashville-area home at an entry-level price point — say, under $300K — the probability of a fast sale rises considerably.

As you move into higher price points, things change, even when you’re priced right.

Higher-end homes in Nashville (say, in the million-dollar range) can take months of focused marketing to find the right buyer. Luxury homes in the Nashville area — priced in the multi-millions — routinely stay on the market for more than a year. The buyer pool at that price point is smaller, and those buyers are usually looking for something very specific.

A good REALTOR can give you an honest sense of what the market looks like at your price point in your specific area, and it’s worth listening — having realistic expectations makes the process less frustrating, and easier to plan around.

If you have questions about selling your home in Nashville, and what you can do to work toward selling your home faster, I’m always happy to offer advice, from prepping to listing. Just contact TJ Anderson Homes, and tell me about your plans.