wait, aren't you an la brokerage?
six17 opened doors in Sacramento after building our reputation in Los Angeles over the years. The reception has been warm, but Sellers have raised the concern: “Arent you an LA brokerage? You haven’t sold any houses in our area.”
Good point. Let’s discuss.
Selling real estate is 5% art and 95% science. The art is the colorful knowledge of the amazing Italian restaurant down the street, the park with the best pond a block away and the juicy tea on the neighbors. It’s a lovely quality to look for in a listing agent, but it isn’t going to get your house sold. To be clear- it’s not going to make a difference in the number of qualified people that walk through the door.
So what does make a difference? Read on my friend, read on.
Science. The science of real estate is well, real. In Sacramento and its surrounding markets, you should be hiring a scientist, not an artist. Why? Because the Sacramento market is going through its biggest growth spurt to DATE. It is catching up to the major markets of this state and it needs to be treated as such. This requires your agent to be an absolute savage at three very important things.
Pricing. Hands down the most important element of selling real estate. The speed and end value of a home is directly correlated to the price it is listed at. While we are here, let’s discuss list price.
List price is not an assumption of value, its an advertising word. Want to know what people fall for every time? The illusion of a deal. Want to know what happens when Buyers know others want the deal too? They get competitive.
Photos. Please for the love of all things- run, don’t walk, from an agent that ever took a photo of a house that’s crooked. Or with their phone. Or with filters. Or put the front door to the house as the last photo.
Photos are designed to give the flow of the house and highlight its most desirable features. If your photos aren’t causing Buyers to imagine themselves floating through the halls or flipping pancakes on a Sunday morning, you’re doing it wrong.
Staging. I’m sure your house is gorgeous. But unless you are Nate Berkus, you are going to need a partial stage, at minimum. Photos of your friends… take ‘em down. That throw that matches so well that you got in Mexico? Storage! Your personal effects are just that, personal. People want to see themselves in the house, not you. Creating a space that is neutral changes everything.
If these three things are done right, your house should sell in less than three weeks. There’s always the exception, which is generally a price adjustment because of an unknown element of obsolescence that wasn’t discovered prior to going to market.
six17’s average days-on-market is 17 days, although we haven’t recalculated that average after our 48-hour sale of 10102 Toluca Lake for $6.4m, 10% over the listing price. (Remember, advertising word!).
Keep in mind, higher sale prices only happen fast.
The longer you sit on the market, the lower the sale price will be. Had we priced Toluca Lake at $6.4m, it’s not likely that we would have sold it for $6.4m.
So, our fellow Sacramentans, how can we sell your home better than anyone? We are scientists. We have a system. We know how to utilize the three most important elements of home selling to get you to the highest price, the fastest. We have a track record of this and we can do it anywhere. Strategic pricing is our specialty.
We know how to work with stagers to create a space that people can see themselves making their own home in. We have the best photographers to bring the Buyers into your home and fall in love with it in person. And your house will never, ever, be on a lockbox for Buyers to see without your agent there with them. How does that 5%, best coffee shop and juicy gossip do you any good if your agent isn’t even present to share it?
Most importantly, we love Sacramento. As a native (Cassandra speaking) to Sacramento, I am happy to be back and overjoyed to be selling property in the areas that I have always thought to be home. I’ve been mastering my skills in one of the hottest real estate markets in the world for the majority of my career. Sacramento has become a notable market and it needs the experience that six17 has.