3 min read

How to Optimise Your Home for Sale

It’s no secret that house prices have been made vulnerable by the current economic climate, with property values declining by 2.3% last month and marking the largest monthly decline since 2008.

The annual rate of growth depreciated to 4.7% during the same period, with the average house price in the UK now estimated at £285,579. Because of this, now may be the ideal time to sell your home if you want to optimise its resale value. But what steps can you take to get ready for a quick sale?

1. Start by Decluttering Your Home and Considering Other Quick Fixes

You should start by tackling the simplest tasks in your home, as so-called “quick fixes” can make a significant difference in a relatively short period of time.

The first step should be to declutter the interior space, in order to best demonstrate the floor space in your home and its interior layout. This is crucial when selling your home to families, who want to envisage themselves residing in the property and justify the list price.

Whilst doing this it is beneficial to depersonalise where possible; removing family and art work etc. to make it easier for prospective views to vision themselves living in the home.

Beyond this, you should pay attention to cleaning dirty walls and ensuring the premises are as pristine as possible, while taking the time to fix any leaking taps or damaged faucets.

If necessary, you may also want to book in a tradesperson to help correct more difficult issues, as this small investment can help realise the full value of your property. When you are done with your updates, make sure you get experienced professionals like https://o-j.co.uk/ to complete your property valuation.

2. Don’t Overlook the Importance of Kerb Appeal

They say that we only have seven seconds to make a positive first impression on others, and a similar principle is true when selling your home. More specifically, you’ll only have a small and limited window in which to impress potential buyers, so we’d recommend focusing on the kerb appeal of your home and making the front of the house look as inviting as possible.

If you have a front garden, for example, take the time to manicure the lawn and plant seasonal bulbs, while once again clearing away any debris and ensuring that all lighting is fully functional.

While we wouldn’t recommend spending huge amounts on optimising kerb appeal, it’s still important to ensure that the front of your property looks as appealing as possible.

If you are selling close to Christmas it could be nice to add a wreath and some outdoor lights to really showcase how homey the house can be from the outside in.

Image Credit: The London Door Company

3. Show Off the Local Area

While the state and appeal of your property is key, buyers will also make purchasing decisions based on the surrounding area and its amenities.

So, if your house exists in an affluent or in-demand area, you may want to sell this creatively to potential buyers and showcase precisely what they can expect should they make an offer on your house.

If you have a creative mindset, you could design booklets that really show off the local area, including any local parks, hotspots, or retail parks. Don’t forget to include information about transport links too, which is particularly important in bustling, city centre locations!

Image credit: The Times

4. Create definition

Naturally, when living in a home for a considerable amount of time, rooms can begin to blur into one. Your dining room may now also be used as an office, and you might often use your porch for storing things that don’t have a place. Whilst this is fine when it is your home, it might not go down well with potential buyers.

Reverting rooms to their original purpose is best practice when preparing to sell. This is useful as it allows viewers to place their own value on the rooms, for example, some buyers won’t be interested in a home office so keeping it as a dining room would be the better option.

If you aren’t able to completely rearrange rooms as you are still living and working from the property, just be sure to tidy away as much as possible during viewings. For example, make sure your work laptop and other equipment are all stored away.