We all know that the traditional way to sell a house is through a real estate agent.
But lately, with the rise of remote working and social distancing, new and alternative ways to sell your house have emerged.
Even with an increase in ways to sell your home, it may not be as easy as you expect. So, before diving into the alternative ways to sell a house, let’s have a look at whether now is the right time for you to think about selling.
Why It Might Be Hard to Sell a House Right Now
As stay-at-home orders ease up and people begin to venture past the front garden again, people are talking about moving.
Objectively that’s good news for anyone trying to sell a Minnesota home. Prices are high, interest rates are low, and if the real estate market continues in a similar vein, your house sale will earn you a decent amount of money.
But while it may be a seller’s market, you have to remember that even as you close your home sale, you’ll need to find somewhere else to live. Because house supply exceeds demand for houses, that means any money you earn selling a house in Minnesota will likely go into buying somewhere new.
Not only do you have to find that elusive new home, but you have to be able to afford it, too. The past few years have been hard on people, and the majority selling their houses are doing so for financial gain. That means the prospect of buying a house in the current, high-priced real estate market may not appeal. That, in turn, can make it hard to sell your house.
Alternative Ways to Sell a House in Minnesota
There are various reasons you might want to avoid the traditional real estate market. For instance, you might:
- Need to sell your house quickly
- Be unable to afford repairs
- Facing foreclosure
Whatever the reason, the traditional approach to selling a house isn’t the only model available these days. While it has advantages, there are many different ways to sell your home in Minnesota.
Handled effectively, they can not only save you money but get you a faster sale than a real estate agent would do.
Here are unique ways to sell a house on your own.
Use Social Media Advertising to Sell Your House
Traditionally, realtors used tools like multiple listing sites (MLS) and other trade secrets to market your home.
But the coming of social media radically changed the homebuyer and seller interaction. With the advent of listing sites like Zillow, it became possible for homebuyers to start listing their homes themselves and using social media to give those listings a boost.
But knowing how to get the most out of social media can be challenging. Consequently, most homeowners looking to achieve a house sale sent out the advertisement to friends and family and hoped it went viral.
You can do more than that. Effective use of social media can help you sell your home in Minnesota by:
- Targeting specific demographics
- Using video to show off the house you want to sell
- Advertising open houses
- Pixels
If this seems daunting, try focusing on your target demographic. That can help narrow down what social media platform you advertise on. For instance, young professionals in the 25-34 age bracket are more likely to be on Instagram than on Facebook.
The baby boomer generation, by comparison, uses social media differently and prioritizes different platforms, particularly Facebook. Consequently, knowing your target demographic can help save money when you’re trying to answer the question ‘How do I sell my house fast in Minneapolis?’
That’s because rather than trying to cover all social media bases, you can now pick and choose the ones that will have you selling a home reliably and promptly with maximum buyer engagement and interest.
Offering One-Day Incentives to Minnesota Homebuyers
Because the high market value on houses may discourage potential homebuyers, one alternative way to sell a house is through one-day incentives.
In homebuying, an incentive is an inducement that drives up interest in the house and persuades buyers to make an offer. Incentives may be things like:
- Shared equity rates
- Partial deposit fee
- Inclusion of white goods or landscaping in a house sale
A one-day incentive limits the window of availability on the incentive deal to encourage buyers and companies that buy houses in Minnesota to make an offer.
While contributing to a partial deposit fee may seem more like a means of spending than earning money, you’ll find that as people compete over the incentive and property offer prices increase. Ultimately, this balances any money you put into the cost of a one-time incentive.
When done well, these one-day incentives can have you selling a house in five days or less.
Create Interesting Spaces with Unused Rooms
Another alternative way to sell a house is by creatively reimagining unused rooms. When you’re finding a house buying company to purchase your home, you need to show your house off at its best.
Vacant and unused rooms don’t do that. Instead, they make it difficult for potential buyers to envisage those unused spaces in their new home.
As you look for unique ways to sell a home, it helps to capitalize on those empty spaces and convert them into something more purposeful than storage spaces or play areas. Some ways to do this are by repurposing excess furniture from other rooms to create:
- TV rooms
- Home offices
- Guest bedrooms
Maybe there’s a TV in the bedroom no one watches or too many couches in the basement. These make ideal pieces of furniture you can repurpose. Not only do they give your vacant rooms a stronger sense of purpose during home viewings, but by decluttering other rooms to fill them, you show the whole house in a better, crisper light.
Note that home offices make for particularly effective repurposings of unused rooms since the remote work model COVID-19 created led to a surge in home offices across the country. It’s possible to work from the kitchen table and always will be, but few people want to.
FSBO in Minnesota
FSBO is short for For Sale By Owner. If you sell your home this way, then you choose to eschew a realtor. This saves you from paying a commission and allows you to control the house sale.
However, it can leave the inexperienced house seller vulnerable to scams, especially if you’re open to cash offers. While there’s nothing wrong with accepting cash buyers on a Minnesota house sale, be wary of homebuyers who:
- Cannot be contacted over the phone
- Claim to be out of the country
- Communicate with you via a third party
- Ask for bank details to make the payment in an email
But FSBO has advantages, especially for owners who:
- Know the home buyer
- Want a quick sale
Sell the Area as Much as the House
When you’re researching selling your home, you’ll likely find it helps to target a particular demographic.
This helps narrow your focus when constructing advertisements, but it also gives you a sense of your prospective homebuyer. Cash offers can attract various people and home buying companies, including:
- Home flippers
- Investors
- iBuyers
- Buy-and-hold companies
But you may also find you attract homebuyers not looking to turn a profit on the house, and they’re interested in the area as much as the house. With that in mind, research:
- Local job prospects
- Neighborhood safety
- Nearby schools
- Community centers
These are all things that can help you sell your house on your own to interested demographics, whether that’s:
- Seniors
- Young families
- Young professionals
Sell the Amenities Too
Amenities are another unique way to sell a house in Minnesota. Most homebuyers have an idea of what they look for in a house, and some of those things are a given.
As any realtor will tell you, kitchens and baths get your Minnesota house noticed. To help sell your house, include features like:
- Stainless steel appliances
- Farmhouse sinks
- Range hoods
But the homebuyers’ needs have also changed in the wake of COVID-19. Another amenity that will help sell your Minnesota house is a home office. Similarly, a well-landscaped yard or garden is another asset you can utilize when selling a house in Minnesota.
It offers somewhere safe to visit with friends and respite from the still-developing work-at-home model, both things crucial for anyone trying to maintain a work-life balance.
Conclusion
If you don’t want to engage in the more traditional real estate market, there are still many ways to sell a house in Minnesota.
But even if you decide to sell your home in Minnesota on your own, having someone with experience to facilitate the process is an asset.
We can help. As you prepare to sell your house in Minnesota, remember to fill up those empty rooms and think of some one-day incentives you could use to help court home buyers.
It also helps to know your audience and where to find them online. If you do all that, you’ll have no trouble not only selling your house on your own, but selling it quickly to a buyer you can trust.