Is It Really the Best Time to Sell in Silicon Valley?

Looking to buy in the Silicon Valley? Get a full Home Search 
Looking to sell in the Silicon Valley? Get a Home Price Evaluation

We've seen a lot in the media about what a great time it is to sell - we even did a market update for you recently with the numbers. But how do you know it's really the best time to sell? Does that blanket sentence mean it's the best time to sell your Silicon Valley property?

In reality, not necessarily. It is a seller's market and a great time in general to sell, but as we always talk about in real estate, it goes back to the 3 most important things about a property: location, location, location. This is because real estate is very localized. An area may have an average value of $400 per square foot, but that's because one neighborhood has a value of $350 per square foot and another neighborhood in the same area has a value of $450 per square foot. With real estate being so localized, it's hard to say a blanket statement like "now is the best time to sell."

“

It goes back to the 3 most important things about a property: location, location, location.

”

You really want to break it down by the local market in your local neighborhood and see if it's really the best time to sell. When doing that, you need to look at price and competition. For example, if there are 3 homes in your neighborhood that are the exact same model as yours, maybe now is not the best time to sell; wait a week or two and see what happens with those properties. Waiting until after they sell, or accept an offer, is a great time to list yours, because the house may have had lots of interest that can be funneled into your similar home.

The key to remember is to consider your neighborhood. It may not be the perfect time to sell right now, but it may be soon. We put a property on the market the week before Christmas. People were wondering why - but it was in a very desirable community with no other homes for sale, so no competition. It sold very quickly with multiple offers. In general, Christmas isn't the best time to sell a home, but it was the perfect time to sell that particular home.

If you're interested in selling your home and now is the best time, give us a call and we'd be happy to work with you. Likewise, if you have real estate topics that you'd like to see covered, let us know too.

Don't Leave Money on the Table When Selling in the Silicon Valley

Looking to buy in the Silicon Valley? Get a full Home Search 
Looking to sell in the Silicon Valley? Get a Home Price Evaluation

A lot of people ask us what they can do to get ready for a home sale. They want to know things they can do to increase their final sale price without putting too much time or money back into their property. Here is what we tell them:

1. Use good photography, especially on the exterior of your home. This will require some updated landscaping, fresh paint on your siding or front door, and perhaps you could even paint your grass green.

2. Decluttering the home is huge when we move on to the interior of the home. A buyer wants to walk into a neat, well-organized home. It makes them think the home is in better condition, and it makes it appear as if you really took good care of the home. Put away unnecessary photos and artwork to neutralize the feel of your home. Show off your counter space.

3. Staging the home is also extremely important. We can bring in a third party stager if you list with us, and we find that our stager can make your home more appealing and it can start bidding wars that result in a top dollar sale. We highly recommend staging your home if you're not planning on living in it during the sale.

If you'd like more tips on how you can prepare your home for sale, please don't hesitate to contact us. We would be happy to speak with you!