How to Reach Buyers When Selling Your Canton Home

Selling your home in Baltimore’s charming harborside neighborhood of Canton should be a snap in the current hot market, right?

Well, yes and no. If you try to rush the house to market without proper preparation and set the price too high, it could sit there unsold for weeks on end and you’ll be disappointed as you see other properties sell quickly and for top dollar.

Do it right, though, and you’ll join many other satisfied sellers who are getting at or just above list price and seeing their homes sell rather quickly.

So how do you avoid the pitfalls and enjoy the fruits of Canton real estate listings? There are several steps to take and the very first one is to hire a great real estate agent. That should be a snap, too, right? Well, yes, if you do your homework before deciding who to hire to handle what will certainly be one of the biggest transactions you ever make.

You’ll want to hire an agent who is knowledgeable about handling real estate transactions in Canton, including some of the pricier listings right on the water, as well as in some nearby neighborhoods. An agent who has worked in the area for a few years has a great feel for pricing trends and how your home compares with other homes that have sold within the last year.

Start by identifying three or four agents from referrals and testimonials on their websites. Schedule interviews and get to know them, their selling strategy, and a detailed look at their sales performance during the last year to three years.

After meeting with all of them, you’ll almost certainly have a gut feeling about which one you want to work with. This is important because you’re going to be putting your trust in that agent during a process that can be complicated and even dizzying if your home sells quickly. Keeping in close communication with your agent from start to finish is a must.

According to Zillow.com, The median price of Canton real estate is currently $329,598, meaning half sell for above that price and half sell for below. That is an increase of 11.7% during the last year. The balance between buyers and the available inventory of homes has become more balanced, but homes are still selling quicker than they have in the past, especially in neighborhoods like Canton where residents enjoy all those great seafood restaurants, pubs, and the waterfront, especially strolls along the Promenade.

There’s a lot more to Canton real estate listings than just putting a “For Sale” sign out front and then throwing open your door for showings. You want to make your home as attractive as possible to get the largest number of potential buyers through your front door. That will help you sell the home quicker and for the maximum profit, which will help especially if you want to stay in the area and need a down payment for a new home.

Remember: Not only will buyers be competing for your house, but you will be competing with other sellers, so your home needs to look sharp inside and out.

This involves getting rid of clutter, giving your house a deep cleaning, and arranging your furniture and décor to make the floorplan shine. If you have a big picture window with a great view of either the city or the water, make that the focus of your living room and arrange the furniture accordingly.

Potential buyers of Canton real estate listings will poke and prod in all corners of your house, so reduce the contents of closets, cupboards, shelves, and drawers by at least 50% so they can see what the storage situation is like. Paint the main rooms in a neutral color such as off-white, beige, or gray so they can begin to envision how they would decorate it.

Spiff up the outside of your home as well in order to give it great curb appeal.

Don’t forget that another key marketing tool for Canton real estate, especially since the pandemic struck, is having a number of professionally taken photos in the online listing of your home, which is where many buyers begin their search. Get photos of the main rooms and selling points of your home, and make sure to have them taken on a bright, sunny day.

When tied together, staging and having photos will form the bulk of your marketing efforts, other than actually getting buyers through the front door for viewings.

According to the National Association of Realtors’ 2021 Profile of Home Staging, 47% of buyers’ agents said home staging had a positive effect on most buyers’ view of the home, and that 82% of agents said staging made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as their future home.

Furthermore, 83% of agents said having photos of the listing was more important since the beginning of the pandemic, 74% said videos were important and 74% said virtual tours were more important.

It’s hard to argue with those numbers.

Next on the list of steps toward success in selling Canton real estate listings is to set a competitive price. This is where your agent’s knowledge of the area comes in handy because he or she knows what homes comparable to yours have sold for recently.

The key is to set the price right from the very beginning. If you ask too much, you run the risk of scaring off potential buyers and your home could sit on the market. Buyers will wonder if something is wrong with the home, and it’s not a good look if you have to cut the price. Conversely, set the price too low and you risk cutting into your potential profit. After all, you’ll want to be able to afford your next house while continuing to enjoy the great Canton lifestyle.

Your agent will have other tips for reaching buyers.

If you plan to buy or sell Canton real estate in 2021, turn to William Weeks for the best client service in the Baltimore area.