“Today, the market’s changing, and buyers can usually be more selective and take more time to explore their options.”
Once you’ve made the decision to sell your house and have hired a real estate agent to help, they’ll ask how much access to your home you want to give potential buyers. Your answer matters more now than it did in recent years. Here’s why.
At the height of the buying frenzy seen during the pandemic, there was a rise in the number of homebuyers who put offers on houses sight unseen. That happened for three reasons:
- Extremely low housing inventory
- A lot of competition from other buyers wanting to take advantage of historically low mortgage rates
- And general wariness of in-person home tours during a pandemic
Today, the market’s changing, and buyers can usually be more selective and take more time to explore their options.
So, in order to show your house and sell it efficiently, you’ll want to provide buyers with as much access as you can. Before letting your agent know what works for you, consider these five levels of access you can provide. They’re ordered from most convenient for a buyer to least convenient. Remember, your agent will be better able to sell your house if you provide as much access to buyers as possible.
- Lockbox on the Door – This allows buyers the ability to see the home as soon as they are aware of the listing or at their convenience.
- Providing a Key to the Home – This would require an agent to stop by an office to pick up the key, which is still pretty convenient for a buyer.
- Open Access with a Phone Call – This means you allow a showing with just a phone call’s notice.
- By Appointment Only – For example, you might want your agent to set up a showing at a particular time and give you advance notice. That way you can prepare the house and be sure you have somewhere else you can go in the meantime.
- Limited Access – This might mean you’re only willing to have your house available on certain days or at certain times of day. In general, this is the most difficult and least flexible way to show your house to potential buyers.
As today’s housing market changes, be sure to work with your local agent to give buyers as much access as you can to your house when you sell.
Bottom Line
Buying a Home Can Be Scary…Unless You Know the Facts
Buying a home is not as complicated as you may think.
Thinking About Buying? Know Your Credit Score
Knowing your credit score is one of the first steps that you can take toward knowing how ready you are to start the home buying process.
Don’t Let Fear Stop You from Applying for a Mortgage
For many, the mortgage process can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be!
Why Sell Now Instead of Later? The Buyers are Out Now
The concept of ‘supply & demand’ reveals that the best price for an item will be realized when the supply of that item is low and the demand for that item is high. Recently released data suggests that a seller’s best deal may be available right now.
Vacation Home Property Sales Surge
According to the Beracha, Hardin & Johnson Buy vs. Rent (BH&J) Index, the U.S. housing market has continued to move deeper into buy territory, supporting the belief that housing markets across the country remain a sound investment. The BH&J Index is a...
Veterans Affairs Loans by the Numbers
The Veterans Affairs Home Loan is a benefit that has helped more than 22 million veterans achieve the dream of homeownership since its creation in 1944.