1-703-508-2535
casey(at)caseysamson(dotted)com
Close
Gallery Image Gallery Image Gallery Image Gallery Image Gallery Image Gallery Image
Follow & Share facebook twitter youtube linkedin pinterest instagram google plus

Main Content

Six Ways to Maximize Profit

One: Agents Sell Homes Not Companies

Agents have pricing strategies, home prep and marketing plans, contract protocols and track records. When we refer seller outside of the Northern Virginia area, we look for small (8-10 person) teams. Small teams have the highest success rate because they do enough business to afford state-of-the-art marketing, while still allowing the principal to participate in every deal. Companies that are large and prestigious, is interesting, but they won’t help sell the home. When we refer sellers outside of Northern Virginia, our agent requirements are this: 80%+ success rate, average days on market less than 30, average sales price at or above list price.

Two

Know Value and Reach for the Largest Buyer Pool

Although the third quarter of 2021 was the best seller’s market in years, 50% of the homes over $1M in Vienna and Mclean withdrew or expired unsold. All failures can be traced to improper pricing. Many sellers, and Realtors, depend on too much on online pricing engines that have proven to be inaccurate. To determine value out team will apply adjusted price per sq ft, % of assessment of proper comps, upgrades, condition and lot premium or discount. Once we know value, we look for the largest buyer pool. Let’s say your home is valued at $1.215M. If you list at $1.2M, the buyer pool is 3-4 times larger and is more likely to produce multiple contracts and start a bidding war. A bidding war generates, higher prices, best terms and fewest contingencies.

More on Pricing

Three

Cosmetic Improvements are an Investment, NOT an Expense

Cosmetic Improvements are an Investment, NOT an Expense Current paint, hardware on doors and knobs, electrical and plumbing features and a few well placed modern rugs, take a home from traditional and dated, to the buyer friendly transitional style and will return $7-$10 for every $1 invested. This will appeal to the largest amount of buyers and spark that seller favorite, the bidding war. Experienced Realtors should select the current colors and have the their trusted contractors do the job.

Four

Predictive Analysis

During the pandemic, we had to come up with a way to determine whether there was a market for our listings. We moved the marketing to the coming soon period so we could monitor: MLS Buyer pool which displayed who many Realtors had stored searches, who many buyer opened the emails and how many favored the home. We found a direct correlation between buyers favoring the home, and how many contracts we could expect.

  • Google analytics allow us to see how many people made it to the website, how long they stayed, which areas were producing the most buyers by city, state, country.
  • Social Media reports showed us how many people saw the home, how many clicked through to see more pictures, how many loved it, liked it commented and shared the home.
Finally, the noise we heard from Realtors prior to launch was important. How many were trying to get into the home early, how many were sending contracts in, how many scheduling showings and asking buyer questions. The data we received and analyzed helped us know if we were listing at the right price. 80% of the listings were at the right price, but thank goodness we were able to adjust pricing before launch on the other 20%. Our success rate went form 87% in 2019 to 97% in 2021.

Five

State-of-the-Art Marketing During Coming Soon

Marketing starts with great pictures and custom websites. We use the “Coming Soon” period to drive traffic to the sites in 4 ways:

  • Social media can target people from around the area, across the country and around the world using key words, hashtags, buyer characteristics and behaviors.
  • MLS displays Realtors that have saved searches for their clients. These Realtors and their clients, receive targeted, professional emails that drive them to the homes website.
  • Renters in the school district and in corporate house are great places to target the perfect buyers and invite them to the open house.
  • Neighbors are not noisy neighbors. They are the biggest advocates for the neighborhood, schools and area. We consider them valuable sources for family, friends and business associates trying to get into the neighborhood.

Six

Contract Protocol

If we have done our job, we get multiple contracts and the real money is on the line. There are two type of offers:

  • Offers with an escalation clause are best for buyers. They allow buyers submit a lower offer with an escalation to a higher number. Many listing agents still allow escalation clause. We do not.
  • Highest and best offers are best for sellers. It forces buyer to immediately go for their highest offer. This usually produces one or two contracts $25,000-$75,000 higher than the next closest buyers. It also makes buyers remove contingencies for home inspection and appraisals. These are the only offers we accept and we have yet to have a home inspection, appraisal or financing contingency in 2021.
  • One of the first questions I would ask a Realtor is “Do you allow escalation clauses?”. If they say yes, find another Realtor. Other important contract items are: contingencies, cash down payment, selling agent experience, correspondence lenders vs Banks or brokers, rent backs and

Today’s market is not about sticking a sign in the ground, There are ten of thousands of dollars at stake. If you follow these steps, not only do you get Maximum Profit, but you get it in the shortest period of time.

Contact our team today! Casey@caseysamson.com, 703-508-2535