Dealing with Marin’s changing market- make them fall in love

Hot, hot, hot? I talk about it, the IJ talks about, multiple offers, people locking themselves in houses to make sure they are the only people who see it.. is the marin real estate market crazy, crazy, crazy? Can sellers get any price they want? NO!! We are seeing multiple offers, and that upper end market is hot. Actually, the higher the price, the hotter it has been BUT this is not the norm. All over Marin, good houses are sitting on the market unsold. Sellers have to be realistic about their prices. Overpriced homes will not sell. Buyers are prepared to wait for big price reductions. With interest rates creaping up, buyers in the lower price ranges are watching prices very closely. The Marin market is still active, but it generally gets pretty quiet in the summer months.

Curious about how to sell your home in this changing market? It is all about creating an emotional connection with the buyer.

Make them fall in love and forget the numbers. Preparing a property for sale in today’s market doesn’t just involve fresh paint and clutter removal- it is adjusting your home to create a strong emotional appeal to your home’s target market. Forget your own personal style- it has to appeal to the people moving into it. I know of two (gorgeous) ultra contemporary houses sitting on the market in Southern Marin. They are beautiful- if you like contemporary. The thing is, the majority of those city buyers coming to Marin want Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. (Half of them won’t admit it, but I can tell you that is what they want!) Thinking about painting? Check out the Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn paints. I know of 3 million + homes staged to the nines with gorgeous custom furniture. They didn’t sell. When they were restaged in PB style, they sold. Many of those multi-million dollar homeowners would never dream of owning PB quality furniture, but they still love it when they see it.

Have a gorgeous home and really bad furniture? It could impact your sales price. Buyers look at furniture (oh- yes, they do!). They take pictures of your furniture, and if they love they way your furniture looks in your house, they might just buy the house!