Home Seller Strategies for Creating a Bidding War

The past two years have brought hot sellers’ markets all over the country. This was great news after many homeowners were stuck sitting on houses that they couldn’t sell for the last decade. The climate in the house market set up a great opportunity for many sellers to take advantage of multiple offers and driving the price of their house up with a bidding war.

So, how do you get that to happen with your house? Here are 5 strategies that can help.

1. Price it low

This strategy can be nerve wracking, but it’s also proven highly effective. A house that is priced below market value, especially one in good condition, draws a lot of attention from buyers. However, when you use this strategy it’s important that you don’t price it too far below the market value.

2. Up the game on your listing photos

If you want to spark a bidding war you need to find out how to make your house listing stand out among the others in your area. One way to do this is by using listing photos that are over the top. Instead of taking standard photos hire a professional real estate photographer to capture the best angles and lighting. You can also include a video walk through of your house.

3. Stage, stage, and stage some more

Ok, you don’t really want to over-stage your house, but that’s not a problem for most sellers. If you want to create a bidding war you need potential buyers to be able to envision themselves living in your house. That means you need to pack away your personal belongings, paint the walls neutral colors, and have it spotless from top to bottom.

Hiring a professional stager can go a long way in setting up each room in a way that highlights its best features for buyers. Keep in mind that while this might seem like a costly undertaking, studies have shown that staged homes sell faster and for more money than unstaged homes.

4. Build interest before it hits the market

Social media has opened up a whole new avenue for marketing your house to potential buyers. Before your listing goes live you can start to build interest by letting people know that it’s going to be coming on the market. Then, when your listing is ready, make sure to share it and encourage friends and family to share it as well.

5. Put a deadline on your listing

If you don’t want buyers to take their time in making a decision encourage them to act fast by putting a deadline on when you’re accepting offers. This can cause buyers to take immediate action which means you might be able to get a few offers from people that would have taken a long time to think about it otherwise.

A bidding war can be a great way to drive up the price on your house. But remember not to get too greedy about it. Don’t pass up on a great offer just because you want to try for multiple offers. You could lose your interested party and end up with zero offers in the end.