There are many things that can increase your chances of getting your property sold and everyone has a different opinion of what those things are.  Some say having freshly baked cookies for showings, having the grass trimmed, having some relaxing music etc., are helpful to give a potential buyer a favourable first impression of your property.  I agree that anything that helps showcase your property in the best light and gives a Buyer a 'warm fuzzy' can't hurt!  However, there is one factor in particular that must be considered when putting your property on the market to get sold! 

First of all, the 2016 real estate market in Parry Sound was great! A lot of properties were listed, sold and many that have been on the market for a year or more also sold.  When the market is going crazy, it seems like almost everything sells.  Even with the Parry Sound real estate market improving drastically this past year, we are still not the Toronto or Vancouver markets (thank goodness!).  Many properties sold, but a lot of others did not. 

A main factor in selling your cottage or other property fast, for top dollar is how your property is "positioned" in the market.  The good part is that you, the seller, have control over where your property will be positioned in the market to (nearly) guarantee that it will get sold! Sound too easy???  Well, of course it is!  Your property's position in the real estate market is determined by an endless list of factors.  A few of the more common factors with a waterfront home or cottage are: price, size of the structure, price, design/quality/workmanship, price, privacy level, price, size and quality of the water frontage, which lake it is on, price, and did I mention price?  I hope you get the idea.  After all factors are taken into consideration, a property still has to be priced properly to sell in a reasonable time-frame.  Furthermore, market data indicates that overpricing a property will usually result in the property sitting on the market for a long time and the seller eventually selling for a lower price than they could have if they just priced it properly from day one! 

Although it is near impossible for owners to remove their emotions from the selling process, quite often that is what is needed.  I find that he number one reason sellers over-price their property is due to their emotional attachment to the property which results in them attributing more value to the property than what is actually there.  (that is where a good Realtor comes in).  No two properties in cottage country are the same, but by comparing the 'sold' properties that are similar to yours, you can get an idea of the value that the local market is saying your property is worth. 

Back to positioning, and how you are still in control...  For example, lets consider a real estate market where on average only 6 out of 10 properties listed will be sold within 6 months.  If your property is 1 of 10 similar properties that a Buyer will likely be looking at, where is your property "positioned" within those 10?  How can you make sure that it get positioned near the top where it will likely sell? To be positioned near the top. you have to make your property more desirable than most of the the other property options.  Perhaps you happen to have the best water-frontage, nice west or south-west views, maybe the privacy is great, etc.   The key factors of your property may be very desirable to most buyers and by listing it at a price inline with the market value for the property, it will likely sell.  Regardless of the key factors of a property, the asking price tends to be a large part of a Buyer's decision making process.  The price you set for your property can adjust the "position" of your property even if it has less desirable key factors.  Example: If a Buyer is deciding between your cottage and a couple other cottages that are similar but have slightly larger waterfronts, slightly larger cottage, etc, but they can get your cottage for $30,000 less, they will start to re-evaluate if those slightly better factors are worth $30,000.  It may seem like I'm suggesting that you simply price your cottage lower than the others, but in reality, if your cottage has a slightly worse waterfront, maybe some steepness to the water, a few weeds, etc then the true market value is lower than the similar cottages that do not have those "negatives".  The goal is to determine the true market value based on the various factors. Presuming that Buyers are buying, when the asking price is equal to (or less) than the market value for a property, the property should sell.

** There is also something that you as a Seller can do right now to put your property in an even better position and possibly sell for more money.  Every market is different.  In the Parry Sound & Muskoka cottage real estate markets, the general trend is to take waterfront properties off the market and then re-list them in the spring once that nasty white stuff starts to melt.  I have found that a great way to get your property positioned at the top of the properties on the market is to show up! A Buyer cannot buy your property if it is not for sale! We have 2 trends at work right now that can work to your advantage.  Trend #1: In 2016 the Parry Sound Muskoka real estate market took off and is crazy-busy. Trend #2: water front home, cottage and many other properties come off the market for the winter.  Again, a Buyer cannot buy your property if it is not for sale.  Right now in January 2017, we have an active market of Buyers eager to buy a property and there are so few options for them.  This creates a great opportunity for Sellers (or owners who are thinking of selling).  Positioning your property at the top of a Buyer's list is much easier when the list of options is so low.  Recently, I listed a cottage/waterfront home in the middle of December, which people will tell you is about the worst time of year to list a property.  We priced the property correctly, based on its market value.  The result was that the property was getting a ton of showings, had multiple offers within 2 weeks and was sold/firm within 30 days! Keep in mind that this is not Toronto...so the result was excellent for our local market.  Buyers were calling myself and other agents to see the property and they wanted to see a few other comparable properties at the same time.  The problem was that there were no other comparable cottages for sale to show them! My seller had virtually zero competition from other sellers. 

As mentioned, there are many factors that contribute to positioning your property at the top of a Buyers list.  After considering your property's pros and cons, commit to price it properly.  Price it so that a Buyer will feel they are getting good value for the price they will pay.  Most importantly, list it now when there is the least amount of seller competition!  Yes, there are fewer Buyers buying right now, but you only need one, and they will buy something...just not yours if it is not for sale.

Feel free to cntact me to discuss how we can get your property SOLD.

Matt Mosher- Sales Representative

RE/MAX Parry Sound Muskoka Realty Ltd., Brokerage
Office: 705-746-9336
Cell: 705-774-8944
Fax: 866-322-6965