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When the local real estate market feels like it’s bracing for a storm, it’s easy to feel defeated as a seller. Maybe houses are sitting longer, or maybe comparable sales are starting to look grim. 

However, the truth is, your home isn’t a statistic. Buyers aren’t just looking at spreadsheets but looking for a feeling of “home”. A bad market simply means the standard, lazy selling strategies won’t work. To earn top dollar, you need to elevate your property from a commodity to an irresistible product. This requires strategy, a little investment, and a powerful spell to sell a house. 

Here are 5 steps to ensure your home breaks the neighborhood record, even when the market is tough!

5 Actionable Steps to Sell a Home in a Bad Market

Invest in High-ROI Fixes

A tough market makes buyers scrutinize every flaw as a negotiating chip. So, don’t give them an excuse to chip away at your price. This isn’t the time for a full-scale renovation, but for a spell to sell your house and surgical, high-impact fixes. 

• Focus on the trio: Paint, flooring, and lighting. Neutral, fresh paint throughout is the single biggest value booster. Replace the carpet with modern, neutral flooring. Update all major light fixtures to modern, bright LED versions. This literally makes the house look newer and cleaner!

• Tackle the small stuff: Fix the drippy faucet, the sticky door, the broken fence latch, and the mismatched outlet covers. These fixes are inexpensive and cost you very little time, removing any buyer concerns.

Master the First Showing

Your home’s first showing is online. Poor photos are a death sentence in a competitive market—not even house-selling spells can help! They can make an average home look below average and a great home look average.

• Go pro, not phone: Hire a professional real estate photographer who uses high-end gear and can properly light and edit the photos. Buyers spend milliseconds scrolling, so those photos must stop their thumb. 

• Add dimension with video/3D tour: A virtual tour or a professional video walkthrough lets buyers mentally move in before they even step inside. This pre-qualifies them and ensures the physical showing is a confirmation of their excitement, not a first look. 

Depersonalize and Stage to Sell

The goal of staging isn’t to showcase your lifestyle, but to allow the buyer to visualize theirs. You’re selling the blank canvas of their future with a spell to sell a house. Practitioners, like Jessica Black’s Spell Collections, know exactly how to help you here.

• The 50% rule for clutter: Remove half of what’s currently in your closets, cabinets, and on flat surfaces. A decluttered space implies ample storage, which every buyer craves. 

• Neutralize: Remove all family photos and bold personal decor. Staging should introduce neutral decor that suggests a refined, easy lifestyle. Remember, your furniture is distracting buyers from the house itself. 

Implement a Hyper-Strategic Pricing Tactic

This is the hardest but most effective move in a slow market. Overpricing your home is the number one mistake. It makes a listing “stale” that eventually sells for less than it would have initially. 

• The “pricing sweet spot”: Use light magic spells to price your home just below what the most recent, similar sale commanded. This doesn’t mean you’ll sell for that price. It’s a calculated strategy to cast a wider net, generate interest, and critically, spark a bidding frenzy.

• The psychology of the offer: Buyers who feel they found a deal in a slow market are more motivated and willing to waive contingencies. They might even pay a premium to win! You’re using scarcity and manufactured demand to drive the price up.

Be Flexible on Showings and Contingencies

The seller can no longer dictate terms in a buyer’s market. Flexibility is currency.

• Be ready for the call: Accommodate showings with minimal notice. A buyer might move to the next house if they have jumped through the hoops to see your house.

• Consider buyer-friendly terms: If a buyer offers top dollar, be ready to concede on things like a flexible closing date or a minor contingency. 

Getting top dollar when the market is tough is less about luck and more about out-strategizing the market. Treat your home’s sale like a high-stakes business transaction, and you’ll surely achieve an exceptional result!