When you watch the news, it might be tempting to think this is a terrible time to sell your house. Unemployment has skyrocketed, and much of the economy is still locked down. Life is indeed changing incredibly fast during the pandemic period, and many industries are following suits, including real estate. Some sellers are pulling their homes off the market and try to sell at a different time. But that may not be an option for everyone.
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So one question brings everything into perspective:
How do you sell a house during the pandemic?
It goes without saying that if you're trying to sell your home amid the global pandemic, you'll need new tactics and more incentive for buyers. And more importantly, you'll do everything there is to keep everyone involved safe and healthy. And here are some ways to make a sale during these challenging times.
Cancel any Open Houses
An open house is a huge market-driving tool in the real estate world because it allows a seller to show a home to many people. However, the Covid-19 pandemic, at some point, has rendered open houses less effective because of the restrictions around large gatherings. Therefore, a new approach might work exemplary fine because there's no easy way to regulate how many people come into your home at once during one of these events. So rather than risking creating an unsafe environment, it is better to cancel these events instead of using the virtual marketing method.
Double-down on Virtual Touring
One thing you can do now as an alternative to an open house is to create virtual touring. And it might be easy to fall for the urge to save on staging now. However, the excellent practice is to even double down to virtual touring. Virtual tours were taking over the real estate industry even before the pandemic. However, the Coronavirus is highlighting its importance today.
Luckily enough, virtual touring requires minimum technical skills as there are a plethora of software websites that allow anyone to make a professional virtual tour of homes. Ask your agent to create a video tour of your home as part of their marketing process. Some agents are now using the latest 3-D touring, which enables prospects to move through the house on their own.
Once you've created the perfect tour with the help of virtual reality, you can include it in the regular property listing on your brokerage's website, send it on your email campaigns, and advertise it on your social media accounts.
On your end, virtual touring will help in limiting the amount of traffic going through your home to only those buyers who have a serious interest in your property.
Execute Pristine Cleaning Before and after Showing
It is usually an excellent practice to clean your home before showing it. But during the pandemic period, the task takes a new level of importance. Execute thorough cleanliness before and after any show to create the safest possible environment for anyone involved.
If you are allowing prospects into the home while still living there, vet the buyers carefully, eliminating the neighbors who might only be snooping around. And for open houses, make masks, sanitizers, shoe coverings, and wipes available at the door front.
Teleconference and Execute E-Signing to Negotiate contracts
When you get an offer for your home, you can handle it digitally. And there is technology to back you up. You can leverage one of the many e-signing programs to sign contracts without the need to go to your office and meet with your agent. Suppose you are new to the e-signing processes, ask for help from your agent. Ask your real estate agent to teleconference with you as you sign the documents to ensure certainty before signing any document.
List your House Now or Be Ready to Pull the Trigger
Amid the pandemic, many sellers hesitate to put their homes on the market—which is unfortunate. Buyer demand is still high, making the pandemic period an excellent time to list a property while everyone else is hesitant. At the very least, you can prepare your home to sell so that you can be the first one on the market whenever the world opens back—because when the world reopens, it is going to be like the floodgates opened.
To find the best buyer for your property, give us a call at the office: 805-338-4466 or reach us by cell: 805-338-3363. You can email us at Keith@Keith4Beach.com!