The First-Time Homeseller’s Guide to Atlanta

When a city undergoes exponential growth, it can have a profound effect on the housing market. Currently, Atlanta is the third fastest growing city in the nation, with a population increase of 90,000 within the past year. This means that all across the metro, in almost every neighborhood, home values are on the rise, sometimes at surprising rates.

This is all great news for homeowners who might be thinking about cashing in on their equity or upgrading to a bigger home. But still, selling a home can be complicated and intimidating, especially if you are a first-time seller. How can you attract the right buyer quickly? What mistakes should you avoid? How do you ensure you’re getting your home’s full value? How do you prepare for hidden costs? To address these concerns, we’ve prepared the following first-time home seller’s guide, so you can walk into the process of selling your Atlanta home with confidence and a prepared strategy.

Financial Preparations

Although you’re hopefully about to make money on your home sale, you still need to make some financial preparations before putting your home on the market. A major transaction almost always come with unexpected or hidden costs. You may also have capital gains taxes to think about if your profit exceeds a certain amount. Finances can become even more complicated if you’re planning to buy a new home at the same time as selling your current one. To make sure you are properly prepared, please see our article on getting your finances in order for a resell.

Updating Your Home

In a competitive housing market, your home will compete with other sellers in your neighborhood. Additionally, prospective buyers expect a certain level of value for their money, even in a seller’s market. This is why updating your home is the next critical step in the sales process. Some updates must be done just to eliminate buyer objections, but others work in your favor because they boost your home value more than the cost of the work. You may not be able to update everything, but by knowing what home buyers are looking for and making those updates a priority, you can boost your bottom line while improving your chances for a quick sale. For more information, see our articles on how to make strategic upgrades and how to make your home “HGTV-worthy” on a budget.

Pricing Your Home

Accurate pricing is one of the biggest factors in how quickly a home sells — or indeed, whether it sells at all. Today’s buyers and their agents are savvy when it comes to comparable home prices; they know when a home is overpriced or undervalued. You do not want to have to go back and add “price reduced” to your listing because it has sat on the market for too long. Factors that affect the resale value of your home include its size, its location, comparable home sales in the neighborhood and the types of updates you’ve done, among other things. Your agent can provide some market intelligence to help you price your home correctly. For more information, check out our article on variables to consider when pricing a home.

Staging Your Home

The question of staging a home for viewing is possibly the most confusing step in selling your home. So much about property staging is subjective, and it is very easy to make mistakes that could turn off potential buyers. The questions abound: should the home be furnished or left vacant? Should you bother doing an open house — and if you do, how can you make the most of it? What about virtual home staging? Can an Augmented Reality app help you sell your home faster? You will have some important decisions to make here, and once again, your agent may have some advice. Be sure to read our article on how to utilize virtual staging to your advantage.

Choosing an Atlanta Real Estate Agent

All other details aside, your choice of a skilled Atlanta real estate agent is possibly the most important decision you’ll make regarding the sale of your home. Owners who sell on their own often make mistakes during the complicated sales process, and they rarely get their home’s full value. A knowledgeable agent knows how to price your home based on its location and its features; they also know how to negotiate with buyers and their agents to make sure you get a fair price. To learn more about how our highly skilled agents can help you sell your luxury home quickly and profitably, call Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty at 404.948.4812.