How To Generate Multiple Offers On A Home In Real Estate

How To Generate Multiple Offers In Real Estate

If you ask ten random people who have recently sold their home what their experience was, you’re likely to get ten different responses.  It’s likely you’ll hear the horror stories of a home being on the market for 6 months and the continuous price reductions.  It’s also likely you’ll hear the story from a seller who had their home on the market for 24 hours and their home was able to generate multiple offers!

Since selling a home can present many challenges throughout the process, a seller who is able to generate multiple offers on their home should feel very fortunate.  Some homeowners believe that a home that generates multiple offers is “lucky.”  This is actually the furthest from the truth.  A sellers who is able to generate multiple offers on their home has done their research and taken the proper steps to achieve this.

What are the steps and some of tips to help a homeowner generate multiple offers on their home?

Below are some of the most important steps and tips to follow to help great increase the chances that you can generate multiple offers on your home when selling it.

Understand Your Local Real Estate Market

Before you list your home for sale, it’s very important that you understand the current “state” of your local real estate market.  Generally speaking, there are three “states” that a real estate market can experience.  A real estate market can either be a sellers market, a buyers market, or a balanced market.

If your local real estate market is currently a sellers market than the chances that you will generate multiple offers on your home have significantly increased!  A sellers market occurs when there are limited houses for sale and there is a surplus of ready, willing, and able buyers in the marketplace.  Buying a home in a sellers market can be tricky and many buyers will understand that in order to secure their “dream home” they may very well be in a multiple offer situation.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if your local real estate market is currently a buyers market, the chances you will generate multiple offers on your home are greatly reduced.  A buyers market occurs when there are lots of homes currently available for sale and the number of buyers in the marketplace is low.

The best opportunity to generate multiple offers on your home will be when your local real estate market is either a sellers market or a balanced market.  One of the best indicators to determine what “state” your real estate market is in is by analyzing the current market absorption rate.

A market absorption rate is a number that indicates how many months it would take to sell the remaining homes that are for sale if no others were listed for sale.  The ideal number for a sellers market, balanced market, or buyers market will depend on your local real estate market.  It’s suggested you consult with a local real estate professional for their insight and analysis.

Make Sure Your Home Is Ready For “Showtime!”

Being Ready For SHOWTIME Can Generate Multiple Offers In Real Estate

Before you set out to sell your home, there are many things that you should complete prior to listing your home for sale!  One of the best ways to help increase the chances you will generate multiple offers on your home is by making simple, low-cost home improvements prior to listing.  When selling a home, you only have one opportunity to WOW a prospective home buyer and make a great first impression.

A very common question asked by home sellers is what steps they should take to prepare their home for sale.  If you’re planning on selling your home in a few months or even a year, it’s not suggested you perform a complete remodel on your kitchen, however, making simple low-cost home improvements can go a very long way!  Some great examples of low-cost home improvements to get your home ready for sale may include;

• Fresh paint
• Replacing outdated light fixtures
• Refinishing floors/replacing carpets
• De-cluttering
• Sprucing up landscaping/curb appeal

Have A Pre-Listing Inspection And Share Your Results

When selling a home it’s important to realize that most home buyers are going to have a home inspection and for good reason.  One of the best ways to generate multiple offers on your home is to have a home inspection before listing your home.  Not only should you repair any major deficiencies that are found during the home inspection, but you should also share the inspection report with any prospective buyer.

A homeowner who is upfront and honest with prospective buyers will greatly increase the chance they will generate multiple offers on their home.  Another common question from home sellers relates to what type of information they should disclose to prospective buyers.  The more comfortable you make potential buyers who are walking through your home, the better the chance they will want to write an offer on your home.  By showing them an inspection report and showing them proof that you’ve rectified any deficiencies can go a long way in building the trust of a potential buyer!

Does Having A Top Listing Agent Help Generate Multiple Offers?

The obvious answer to this question is YES, having a strong agent in your corner will help generate multiple offers.  Why does it matter?  There are many things you should expect from your Realtor when selling your home and many things a top producing Realtor will do to generate multiple offers on your home.

Below are some of the most important things a top Realtor will do to help generate multiple offers on your home!

Hiring A Real Estate Rock Star To Sell Your Home Is Critical In Generating Multiple Offers

Suggests An Accurate Price For Your Home

Correctly or incorrectly pricing a home is the number one reason whether a home will sell or not.  There are so many common real estate pricing mistakes that sellers make.  One of the most important reasons why having a top producing listing agent in your corner when attempting to generate multiple offers on your home is because of their expertise on pricing.

Many homeowners believe that they should price their home high to leave room for negotiation.  This is a great way NOT to generate multiple offers on your home.  When attempting to generate multiple offers on your home, a top Realtor should suggest what they consider an aggressive listing price.  The purpose of suggesting an aggressive listing price is that it should generate lots of interest and showings the first few days your home is listed for sale.

If the price is right, you should not only expect to receive one purchase offer, but you should expect to generate multiple offers on your home.  During the recent sale of a Brighton, NY home, the listing price was suggested under $170,000 to generate lots of interest and the hope was to generate multiple offers.  The seller was successful and received 4 offers within the first 24 hours and secured a sale price much higher than the listing price.

Generates Lots Of Exposure

Another very important reason why having a top listing agent in your corner when attempting to generate multiple offers is due to the fact they should be able to generate tons of exposure for your home.  One of the biggest mistakes a seller can make when choosing a Realtor is hiring what is called a “post and pray” real estate agent.  This type of agent will put a sign in your front lawn, enter the listing into the local multiple listing service, and pray that it sells.

A homeowner who is looking to generate multiple offers must understand the exposure a top producing listing agent will provide their home.  A successful listing agent will have a very strong marketing plan.  Their marketing plan should include a strong mix of traditional advertising, such as newspapers and postcards, as well as a strong mix of non-traditional advertising and marketing.

What is non-traditional advertising and marketing?  This should include a strong presence on social media as well as having a strong website and/or blog.  There are many reasons why having a top real estate blog and website are important when it comes to generating multiple offers.

One of the most important reasons is the fact that having a top performing real estate blog and website can give an agent the opportunity to show their expertise on many different topics.  This can may ultimately lead to prospective buyers wanting to work with that agent and may mean more prospective buyers for your home!

Strategically Schedules Showings

To generate multiple offers on a home, it’s not as simple as taking a few pictures, placing the property in the local MLS, scheduling a few appointments, and BAM…multiple offers!  Another reason why a top Realtor can help generate multiple offers on a home is because they know how to strategically schedule showings.

If your home is priced properly from the beginning, there should be a dozen or so showing requests within the first day or two on the market.  A top listing agent is going to do their absolute best to attempt to schedule these showings at the same time or very close to the same time.  What this can achieve is competing buyers seeing each other as they walk through your home.  This often will generate multiple offers and also will keep the offer prices close to if not over the asking price because the buyers will know they only have one opportunity at securing the home.  It creates a sense of urgency!

In addition to aligning the showings, a top listing agent should also keep the other Realtors who have shown or will be showing your home up to date on prospective offers or offers that have been received.  This allows a buyers agent the opportunity to let a buyer know they either have to write an offer or they may not have the opportunity at securing the property.

Final Thoughts

Homeowners who are able to generate multiple offers on their homes have done their research and homework.  It is not luck that generates multiple offers for a homeowner!  Buyers certainly do not enjoy getting into a multiple offer situation, however, any seller loves when their home generates multiple offers!

The above tips on how to generate multiple offers on a home in real estate are all very important and if followed, can help any homeowner achieve this.

Other Top Home Selling Resources

• Top First Time Home Sellers Tips & Tricks via Rochester’s Real Estate Blog
• How To Choose The Best Offer For Your Home via Huliq
• Field Guide To Multiple Offers via National Association of Realtors
• In A Bidding War, How Do You Choose The Best Offer? via Realtor.com

Are you selling your Rochester, NY home?  Wondering how you can generate multiple offers on your Rochester, NY home?  The above tips are a great start to obtaining this goal, however, I’d love to opportunity to discuss how I can help you generate multiple offers on your home!  Contact me and we can arrange a no-obligation appointment to discuss your Rochester, NY home selling needs. 

About the authors:  The above article “How To Generate Multiple Offers On A Home In Real Estate” was provided by the Keith Hiscock Sold Team (Keith & Kyle Hiscock).  With over 30 years combined experience, if you’re thinking of selling or buying, we’d love to share our knowledge and expertise.

We service the following Greater Rochester NY areas: Irondequoit, Webster, Penfield, Pittsford, Fairport, Brighton, Greece, Gates, Hilton, Brockport, Mendon, Henrietta, Perinton, Churchville, Scottsville, East Rochester, Rush, Honeoye Falls, Chili, and Victor NY.

Visit our website at www.HiscockHomes.com.