It’s a hot market: Get ready to sell
Santa Fe Realtors offer tips to get your home in shape for spring listing
Santa Fe home prices are high right now, in large part because the inventory of available houses is quite low.
At the beginning of 2019, there were 1,052 homes available in the Santa Fe multiple-listing service area, which includes nearby cities such as Los Alamos and Pecos. “We’ve often been around the 2,000 mark, so there is pent-up demand,” said Jonnalyn Grover at Coldwell Banker Trails West Realty. “There are buyers waiting to get a house.”
In other words, this is a great time to sell. To make that process better and easier, Grover and two other Santa Fe Realtors are offering some advice for homeowners planning to put their homes on the market this spring.
Decluttering is the No. 1 task, Grover said. Homeowners need to bite the bullet and get rid of personal photos; in fact, it’s a good idea to remove about half of what’s on the walls and on tables. The point is to open everything up, so that potential buyers can picture themselves in a home.
No. 2: Clean everything. Get the bugs out of the light fixtures; wash the windows and mirrors. Touch up woodwork. And decide if a gallon or two of paint will help you get a better price.
“Try to look at your house as a buyer would,” Grover said. “Get one of your friends to come in, or ask a Realtor to come over. We’ll do it for free, tell you what you need to do to get your house ready.
“And it’s a good idea to interview two or three Realtors. You want to make sure you’re compatible and comfortable with the person. And you need someone who will be honest with you.”
Grover advises sellers to be truthful about disclosure items such as a sticky window or the occasional water-supply problem for those sharing a well with other homes. Fill out that disclosure form as fully as possible.
“If you have a question about whether you should disclose it, disclose it,” she said.
Though it’s still winter, the homeowner should pay some attention to the outside — trimming perennials and pulling any obvious weeds.
Britt Klein of Sotheby’s International Realty, recommends that every seller conduct a prelisting inspection. Certainly the home
is beautiful, but are there hidden problems? Is there mold or radon, or polybutylene or Kitek plumbing that may be defective? These probably will show up when the buyer pays for a professional inspection.
“Getting ahead of these problems now, you can at least get competitive bids,” Klein said. “When you’re up against a deadline, you have maybe two weeks to close, you’re at the mercy of whatever company can help you and what they’re going to charge.
“Sometimes we’re the bearers of bad news as the brokers, but I hate surprises. Oftentimes we renegotiate the deal. A buyer’s going to ask for credits, a price reduction, and that becomes a very traumatic experience for a seller.”
Klein said she works with sellers to come up with a fair price. After decluttering, staging is very important. The professional stager and the broker work together — the Realtor must understand “the aesthetic trends of what buyers are looking for in Santa Fe,” she said, and the stager can highlight the home’s best features.
Linda Murphy of Santa Fe Properties said she wants to work with the client for at least a month before listing the house. After doing a pre-listing walkthrough, she helps with decisions about removing or adding furniture and addressing repair items.
“Generally speaking, these are things sellers overlook because they’re used to living there and they don’t see it anymore. It’s good to have another set of eyes,” Murphy said. “Sometimes I even recommend that sellers have their relatives over.”
A tough-love approach sometimes does wonders.
“People are usually just full of compliments, and until you give someone the authority to be honest about your property, you’ll never know,” she said. “That’s where I end up having to walk a fine line, because it could be viewed as being negative.” A few more focus points: Cover brightly colored walls and go neutral, so it appeals to a greater number of people. Replace that 1980s-look brass-door handle or bathroom faucets with items boasting a brushed-nickel finish or a more contemporary styling.
Make sure every lightbulb in the house works. Use higherwattage bulbs to lighten up the house.
Get rid of half the stuff in the closets. Get down to what you really need for the three or four months that the house will be on the market. And don’t put everything in the garage. Get a storage unit, and include wardrobe boxes with clothes you can alternate with what’s in the house.
Murphy said sellers should not forget the obvious — the firstglance “curb appeal” items.
“The front door,” she said, “should look as awesome as possible.”
Sometimes we’re the bearers of bad news as the brokers, but I hate surprises. Oftentimes we renegotiate the deal. A buyer’s going to ask for credits, a price reduction, and that becomes a very traumatic experience for a seller.” Britt Klein of Sotheby’s International Realty