Perspectives on North Shore Chicago's
Real Estate Market

For Sellers

Selling Your Home on the North Shore

Selling your home involves much more than just placing a “For Sale” sign in your yard and going to the closing. Our team at the North Shore Home Store will help you prepare your home for sale, market your home, and guide you through the sale process to ensure you sell your home as quickly and at the best price possible.

As your Realtors®, we will determine the correct price range for your home, identify what things you should do to make your home more appealing to buyers, and develop the most effective plan of action. Here are some of the steps we will take to sell your home:

  • Review the selling process and what you should expect
  • Perform a market analysis of comparable homes in your neighborhood
  • Determine the optimal list price
  • Market your property using all the tools at our disposal
  • Provide ongoing updates and progress reports
  • Present the offer and assist you in negotiations

Factors That Affect Your Home’s Sale

There are four main factors that determine how marketable your home is—price, presentation, financing, and time.

  • Price –Price will have the biggest impact on the sale of your home. Your objective should be to make your property stand out as the best value of all the homes in its competitive set. This will guarantee you more activity in the critical first few weeks of a listing.
  • Presentation- Once you have determined the right listing price, you want present your property in its best light so that it appeals to the broadest pool of buyers possible. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a great first impression, so make sure you have cleaned, de-cluttered and updated your house BEFORE you list it. Our team includes a professional home stager who can help you give your home that “wow factor” that will have buyers saying, “This is it! This is the one.”
  • Financing - You may not realize it, but the financing of your buyer can have a tremendous impact on the success of selling your home. Try to offer very attractive financing options. Consider carrying the financing yourself at a below-market interest rate or preparing your home for government financing. This could open the door for many buyers that otherwise wouldn’t even consider your home.
  • Time - If your time frame is important, then you should be willing to lower the price to get your house sold quickly.

How Much Should I Ask for My Home?

Of course you want to get the full market value for your North Shore home. The first step to getting the best price is to determine your home’s value. Your Realtor® can help you set the right asking price by taking the following factors into consideration:

  • Your home’s value will depend on recent selling prices of comparable homes in your area. After reviewing the selling prices for these homes and current market trends, we arrive at a target listing price.
  • Buyers most likely look in the price range determined by their monthly payment ability and down payment. North Shore home buyers are often very knowledgeable about homes in their price range and purchase by comparison. Unreasonable asking prices are an immediate turn-off.
  • Inviting a potential buyer to make an offer shows that you are willing to bargain. However, if your asking price is outrageous, the buyer’s offer will most likely also be unreasonable.
  • It’s necessary to offer pricing, terms and conditions that are competitive in your market. This will help you sell faster and get the full market value.

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