Whether you're ready to relocate—or just want to take advantage of the favorable North Scottsdale housing market—2022 is a great time to sell Arizona real estate. Prepping your home for the market is quite the undertaking, but when done properly, it can be both lucrative and personally fulfilling.
To maximize the sale price of your Scottsdale home and attract the most qualified buyers, you’ll need to prepare carefully, pay close attention to detail, and put yourself in the shoes of a luxury buyer. Ensure your listing is a genuine showstopper for potential buyers by using the following guide before listing your North Scottsdale home.
Research the Scottsdale market
Though the North Scottsdale real estate market remains favorable towards sellers, it’s still vital to use careful preparation and planning to maximize your sale.
The first step to listing your Scottsdale home is to establish a timeline. Your needs and personal timeline will drive the early stages of your selling process. Although there's no set schedule for selling your home, the sooner you know you're ready to list, the quicker you can ready your home.
After you list your home, the market will drive the rest of the process. The good news is that Scottsdale luxury homes are in high demand throughout Maricopa County, with North Scottsdale leading the market for relocation and buyers looking for a second home. Beyond physical preparation, factors that influence the speed at which your Scottsdale home will sell include the efforts of your listing agent and the general location of your property.
From the moment you list your Scottsdale home for sale (and, in some cases, before), your agent may be able to deliver a qualified buyer. To be ready, dedicate time to your pre-listing preparations, including:
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Finding an experienced local listing agent
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Conducting a pre-inspection
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Updating, cleaning, and staging the home/yard
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Preparing to move by renting a storage unit and cleaning your home's storage spaces
Hire with an experienced listing agent
Even in a seller's market, one misstep can be the difference between a highly profitable sale and your home languishing on the market. Selling a multi-million dollar Scottsdale luxury home requires both a strong attention to detail and extensive market knowledge. The following are just some tasks where an experienced local agent can support you in preparing, listing, and selling your North Scottsdale home:
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Coordination of contractors and vendors for home inspections, repairs, or staging services
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Collection and organization of your home's documentation
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Development of a marketing plan for your home's listing—including creating your property's online presence, sourcing photos and advertising materials, and adding your listing to the multiple listing service (MLS)
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Identify comps and recently sold properties, and research market history and trends to inform your list price
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Host open houses, private tours, or unique marketing events to spread the word about your listing.
And that’s all prior to negotiating offers and valuation.
Seek out a knowledgeable, highly respected, local listing agent specializing in selling North Scottsdale luxury real estate. It’s even better if you can identify an expert who's plugged into your specific community. An established listing agent will have the connections and commitment to ensure your sale is successful and will assist with pre-listing coordination, pricing, and marketing.
Prepare your Scottsdale home
Whether you’ve lived in your home for a year or a decade, it’s a familiar space finely tuned to you and your family. However, when it comes time to sell, it’s vital to detach yourself emotionally.
Adopt the mindset that you're not necessarily selling your current home but instead identifying and welcoming a buyer into their new home. It will ensure you create an environment where buyers picture themselves in the home versus seeing it as someone else’s home. Preparation is critical at this stage as you transform your home into a showcase for potential buyers.
Planning and pre-inspection
One of your first tasks is consulting with your listing agent, as well as a professional stager, to determine your home's needs. Vital to crafting the “clean slate” appearance that buyers appreciate, you'll identify specific areas that could hinder the home's marketability. Staging consultants are invaluable in creating an open, airy, and aesthetically pleasing space.
Additionally, it may be advantageous to schedule a pre-listing inspection. It’s not always necessary, but depending on your home's age, the assessment identifies problem areas that have arisen since you initially purchased the home. It serves as a guide for what should be addressed now, pre-listing, and what can wait.
For example, you’ll need to immediately address minor repairs, such as a faulty light switch or leaky shower head. The cost is insignificant versus the possibility of disappointing a would-be buyer. If the home requires significant repairs—such as HVAC concerns or issues with the roof or foundation—you'll want to balance the potential repair cost with the return on investment (ROI) you could garner upon selling. Should you forgo the repairs, you have the option to negotiate it as a credit with a buyer. If you're uncertain about what is more advantageous, consult with your listing agent.
Updates, cleaning, and staging
When it comes to cleaning and decluttering, your aim is simple: to fully depersonalize your home. The entire pre-listing process hinges on creating a clean and welcoming environment for buyers to envision themselves living in. You want to remove the “lived-in” feel of your house and ensure that decor is minimal and neutral. Modest updates carry a huge impact, even for multi-million dollar estates. When prepping your home, consider the following:
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Add fresh paint throughout the home in bright, neutral tones
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Replace fixtures and hardware
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Update window treatments
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Enhance your home's lighting package with new fixtures and energy-efficient bulbs
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Install new appliances (at a luxury price point, the ROI could be considerable)
Though it may seem extensive, these investments can drastically increase the value of your home. In addition to making upgrades, you need to clean, declutter, and depersonalize your space.
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Remove all family pictures, heirlooms, or knick-knacks
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Declutter countertops in the kitchen, bathrooms, and garage (if applicable)
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Put bulky or oversized pieces of furniture into storage
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Remove the contents of closets, and move things to your storage unit.
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Remove small appliances from countertops
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Organize open shelving with as few contents as possible
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Hire a professional cleaning service that specializes in move-out cleanings
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Update your linens and towels with white or neutral tones
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Clean and freshen up your home's exterior via power washing decks or patios, wiping down outdoor furniture, and cleaning your garage
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Address any overgrowth or dead plants and flowers; hire a landscape company to redress your yard's problem area and install and maintain seasonal color for the duration of your listing
Once your home is in immaculate shape, it's time to bring in professional stagers. Staging professionals are experts at making homes market-ready and prove to be invaluable assets when listing luxury real estate for sale. The best stagers in Arizona know how to enhance a home's best attributes and show off its versatility and livability. If you’re unsure who to connect with, your listing agent will have plenty of names for you.
Prepare to move
Your agent will work with you to establish a competitive price and manage all the home's marketing, personal tours, and open houses. Once your North Scottsdale home hits the market, the sale process will move quickly—especially within the city’s demand-driven market. Be sure you have a plan for future housing and are ready to move as soon as you accept an offer. Simultaneous buy-sell transactions are always a challenge for homeowners. If you're uncertain about your next move, it may not be the right time to sell. That said, financing tools such as bridge loans can provide you flexibility in helping you procure new real estate. These short-term loans access the equity from your current home to help you acquire a new property, even as you work to sell it.
Ready to explore North Scottsdale real estate?
Whether you're buying or selling Desert Mountain luxury real estate, contact POWER+ real estate team today. Their experience and deep knowledge of the area will help you navigate the buying or selling process with ease.
*Header image courtesy of POWER+
