The luxury real estate market has thrived in recent years, and now is an excellent time to list your property as one of the homes for sale in Lake Bluff. This process can be exciting, and to maximize the chances of a high sale price, there are many steps you can take before showing your home.

Let’s take a look at these strategies designed to attract buyers and impress them with your property.

Hire a Professional Agent

This is the single most important step any homeowner looking to sell should take. The Lake Bluff real estate market has its own unique characteristics, and hiring a real estate agent with years of experience selling housing in this neighborhood will make the entire process not only easier, but lucrative.

Start by researching known agents of the area. Browse their website, examining their recent sales statistics and testimonials from satisfied clients. Once you have a shortlist of the most promising candidates, interview a handful to get a sense of their personality, communication skills, and trustworthiness. Strong agents won’t be pushy or be quick to make promises they can’t deliver. Ask the agents to detail their track record of success, particularly during the dramatic market fluctuations of the pandemic.

Use your instincts, and choose the most competent agent best suited to your wants and needs. Once you’ve made your hire, you can transition your attention back to your home.

Pricing Your Home

Setting a price too high runs the risk of your home sitting on the market longer than it should, whereas a low price will put an unnecessary limit on the capital to be gained in a sale. A strategically priced property will attract the maximum amount of interested buyers and could allow you to enjoy choosing from multiple attractive offers. 

This is where guidance from an experienced agent becomes particularly necessary. Their experience handling transactions for houses for sale in Lake Bluff and knowledge of current pricing trends will inform the competitive asking price for your home.

The Lake Bluff real estate market is currently defined as a buyer’s market, meaning there are more properties available than there are people looking for houses. With this in mind, your agent will take a number of factors into consideration when setting the asking price of homes for sale in Lake Bluff. They will pull sales data from the past six months on homes similar to yours, compare amenities, and consider location.

Prepare Your House for Showings

Impressed buyers mean higher bids. Let’s examine the steps you can take to make your home stand out among other Lake Bluff real estate, and ultimately lay the groundwork for a higher sale.

Cultivate Curb Appeal

First impressions do matter. Although it’s tempting to focus on preparing the interior, the exterior has an outsized impact on a potential buyer’s experience of your home. Your front yard, porch, facades, roof, and anything else seen from the road will be the first thing someone touring your home will consider.   

If your exterior is attractive and well-maintained, buyers will be intrigued to step inside and see more. It’s unkempt or shabby, they might decide to skip the showing and move to one of the many other appealing options in the area. 

Mow the lawn. Plant flower beds. Trim the trees and shrubs. Repaint the front door, preferably in a warm, welcoming color. If your porch light is old or weather-beaten, replace it with a stylish new fixture. Additionally, a fresh, neutral welcome mat will round out the look. Despite the simplicity of these small steps, they will have a notable effect on selling your home.

Prepare the Interior

It’s equally as important to grab potential buyers’ attention the minute they walk into one of the homes for sale in Lake Bluff. Your home must be clean, bright and airy, and easy to move around in.

Declutter

Start by combing through the house, removing any extraneous possessions that make your home look cluttered. Items you want to keep should be boxed up and labeled. Everything else can either be thrown away, recycled, donated, or sold. If you have time, a garage sale is an easy way to get rid of unwanted items and make a little money.

Clear out at least half of your belongings. The additional space this opens up will give potential buyers a better idea of the size of your home and the available storage space they’ll have at their disposal. Make sure you declutter all areas of the house, including closets, cupboards, the kitchen pantry, and bathroom vanities. Buyers take searching for houses for sale in Lake Bluff seriously and will be certain to examine every nook and cranny of your home.

Pack up all family photos, wall hangings, and any other personal items. Buyers want to envision their family living in the home, so give them a blank slate to work with.

Stage Your Furniture

The same concept holds true for furniture. Pare down the pieces in the living room and master bedroom, arranging what’s left to open up the floor space. In the living room, set your furniture around a focal point such as the picture window, especially if you have a great view of Lake Michigan.

Repaint the Walls

If the interior walls of your Lake Bluff real estate are painted with your favorite shades, it’s smart to redo them with earth tones or neutral colors such as gray, beige, or off-white. This will allow the home to appeal to a wider range of buyers.

Clean

Finally, give your home a deep cleaning to make every room shine. When it’s time for showings or an open house, throw open the curtains and turn on all the lights so your home is as bright as possible.

By taking the right steps to prepare your home for sale, you’ll ensure it spends less time on the market and attracts higher offers. If you plan to sell Lake Bluff real estate in the near future, the realtors at the Baker McNicholas Group can use their extensive experience to empower you in the process and guide you every step of the way.