Price Cuts Are on the Rise in Canada. Sell Your Home for Top Dollar With These 7 Tips

If you’re looking to sell your home soon but have concerns about whether or not you’ll be able to get top dollar, you’re not alone. As of October 2022, nationwide home prices have fallen 10% since February’s peak, and many houses are selling below asking. Reduced demand and rising price cuts have left many potential home sellers wondering if bad timing has ruined their chances of making the profit they’d been hoping for. Luckily, strategies are available to help you leverage your home’s value, ensuring you remain successful in achieving both a quick sale and generous profits.

Here are seven proven tips to help you get top dollar for your home:

1. Stage your home

According to data from America’s National Association of Realtors, 23% of sellers who staged their homes received an offer of 1-5% over the asking price. Staging can help potential buyers visualize their future home, plus it makes your online listing extra eye-catching.

Cleaning, decorating, and rearranging furniture in a way that showcases your home in the most appealing way possible sometimes involves a team of interior design experts. According to stats from the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), staging a 2,000 – 2,500 sq ft home in Ontario costs between $2,000 to $4,000. If you already have updated, well-cared-for furniture and décor, staging could cost even less.

2. Depersonalize it

Putting personal items in storage, decluttering, and neutralizing your home’s colour palette are all ways to depersonalize your home so that potential buyers can envision themselves living there. Ideally, you want home shoppers to see your home as their move-in ready dream residence. Consider hiring a professional cleaning service to do a deep clean, and paint the wall colours an on-trend neutral colour such as Chiseled Stone, Arctic Wolf, or Autumn Blonde. Replace portraits, posters, and knick-knacks with attractive wall art and generic vases. Also important: declutter the yard, driveway, and garage. Emotions are a huge part of a home shopper’s decision-making, so you want the potential buyer to feel like this house is their own.

3. Maximize light and space

Whatever you can do to make your home appear brighter and more spacious will increase its value. Prior to a showing, open all the blinds to let in as much natural light as possible. When appropriate, add an extra lamp or light fixture to illuminate darker corners. Replacing yellow or warm light bulbs with cool white or daylight bulbs will also help to increase your home’s brightness. You can also remove excess furniture, which will not only help your home appear larger, but will allow for potential buyers to move more freely.

4. Update and repair, but don’t remodel

Making strategic cosmetic updates can add up to $6,000 to your home’s value, according to a Zillow study. Major remodels aren’t needed. Rather, simple repairs such as removing worn carpets or replacing outdated appliances and fixtures will maximize the value of your home. Some must-dos include: adding fresh paint, patching holes and cracks, updating old hardware and faucets, replacing broken windows, and regrouting if necessary.

5. Focus on the kitchen

The kitchen is a centrepiece of the home – a space that buyers are sure to notice. A recent study by Point2Homes found that an updated kitchen is high on the Canadian buyers’ must-have list. Current buyers are especially cost-conscious, and many do not have the funds for kitchen remodelling projects. So, prioritize this space. In fact, some kitchen features add immense value to a home. These include: custom cabinetry, a kitchen island, creative lighting, and granite countertops. Even simple fixes like changing knobs can make your kitchen look new in the eyes of buyers.

6. Boost curb appeal

Ottawa-based contractor Ed Hansen estimates that “a well-managed landscape can add up to 28% to the overall value of your home.” But how do you improve the outside of your home, a.k.a. curb appeal?

Since photos are an essential part of a homebuyer’s search, whatever you can do to enhance that initial impression will reap huge rewards. Some inexpensive places to start include updating your front door with a trendy colour, scrubbing down exterior trim, power washing walkways, and cleaning exterior windows. A layer of fresh mulch beneath your trees and shrubbery is also one of the least expensive ways to make your yard attractive. Finishing off the look with a few potted plants and hanging flower baskets will add that extra touch of colour to help your listing photos sparkle.

7. Hire the right real estate agent

An experienced real estate agent not only knows how to strategically market your home for today’s home selling climate, but they also have a wealth of relationships with those in the community. They can generate more interest in your listing than you could’ve ever imagined. An agent’s connection with stagers, photographers, and marketing experts can ensure your home is featured in the best light. Their guidance will enable you to complete the process with minimal expenses and delays.