If you need to sell a house FAST in Pittsburgh or the surrounding areas, you’ve come across the right article! As real estate investors, we know a thing or two about how to sell a house fast in the Pittsburgh area.
As is the case in most of the country, Pittsburgh is in a seller’s market. That’s great news for Pittsburgh homeowners that need to sell their house fast. Unfortunately, even in this hot real estate market, the average “Days on Zillow”, an indicator of how long it takes to sell a house, is 88 days in Pittsburgh.
If you can’t wait nearly 3 months to sell your home, you’re not alone. But don’t worry, there’s a way to sell your house in days, rather than weeks and months.
Follow the tips in this article to find out how to sell a Pittsburgh house FAST!
Tip #1 – Don’t try For Sale By Owner (FSBO) in Pittsburgh
In another article, we discuss the different options you have for selling a house in Pittsburgh. One of the options is trying to sell the house yourself, also known as For Sale By Owner. If you’re serious about selling your house fast, don’t even think about trying to sell it yourself.
According to this article in Forbes, an academic study showed a 0% increase in the average selling price of a home when listing it FSBO as opposed to working with an agent. And not only that, homes tend to sit on the market 3 or more weeks longer than if they were listed with a real estate agent. This is because individuals don’t have the same network that professional real estate agents have access to, meaning your house will be getting less exposure to potential buyers. Besides that, FSBO comes with a host of other hassles such as: significant time investment, legal paperwork, negotiating against experienced buyer’s agents, and much more.
Conclusion: FSBO is NOT the right approach for people trying to sell a house fast in Pittsburgh.
Tip #2 – Set the right asking price for your Pittsburgh House
Setting a competitive asking price is key if you want to sell your house fast in Pittsburgh.
If your price is too high, the house won’t sell right away. When the house doesn’t sell right away, the listing becomes stale. When the listing becomes stale, buyers lose interest because they think something must be wrong with the house. When buyers lose interest, the listing becomes even more stale. You get the idea. All of this ends up leading to a delay in selling, and ultimately a lower sales price.
The fact is, most people overvalue their own home. Don’t be one of those people if you want to sell your house fast. Use facts instead of your own opinion to price your home competitively. Zillow is a good place to start because it allows you to look at recent sales data. You can filter down to your area, and houses that are similar to yours and see what they sold for.
If you’re still not sure what your home could be worth, you can give a professional homebuyer (like us) a call! We have experience buying homes in all parts of Pittsburgh, and would be happy to give you a no-obligation estimate.
Tip #3 – Don’t spend money on repairs before selling your Pittsburgh House
Many people are convinced that they must spend a lot of money improving landscaping, updating a kitchen, or replacing an old furnace before selling their house. This couldn’t be further from the truth, especially in a seller’s market like Pittsburgh! At the end of the day, it’s rare for homeowners to get 100% of their investment back when selling the house. In fact, Realtor.com wrote an article that featured the most common home renovation projects, as well as what they cost the homeowner. The result? Not a single renovation earned 100% of it’s cost back when it came time to sell the home.
Setting costs aside, there’s still the fact that it takes a long time to complete renovations and you need to sell your house fast!
In summary, negative return on investment (ROI) + extra holding costs + lost opportunity time = don’t make repairs or improvements to sell your house faster!
If you are worried that your house is in such bad shape that you would struggle to sell it on the retail market, contact McIntosh Management, LP. We buy houses in ANY condition!
Tip #4 – Don’t just tidy up – do a deep clean!
Because Pittsburgh is such a competitive market, you have options when it comes to selling your house. But, if you plan on listing your house with a real estate agent, it needs to be nearly spotless to get top dollar. Why? Potential buyers are ready to spend a lot of money on a home, and because of that they look at details. This means they won’t just walk into your kitchen and look at the color of your countertop and how old your cabinets are. They might also look inside your appliances, cabinets, and pantry to see if there’s anything hiding.
To prepare for this, you need to evaluate every room from top to bottom. If you can’t do that because there’s too much stuff in your room – get rid of it! Consider a yard sale or putting larger items in storage. After that, start your regular cleaning routine, but also:
- Clean your windows, inside and out
- Shine up mirrors, bathroom fixtures, and kitchen faucets
- Get on a ladder to clean ceilings, fans, and light fixtures
- Remove blinds and wash them thoroughly with a hose
Everything counts! Once you are finished, be sure to keep it in this condition until your home sells.
Tip #5 – Make your house appealing to “most” people
This is something many people don’t think about when they’re selling their home. Oftentimes homes are filled with personal possessions, pictures, and unique artwork that has meaning to the homeowner. Unfortunately, your taste doesn’t necessarily match the taste of prospective homebuyers – and that can negatively impact your home’s value. Many real estate agents suggest removing personal photos, repainting loud-colored walls, and making your house a bit more “boring” before taking pictures and listing it on the market. Not everyone will to do this, but it can help.
The BEST Way to Sell a House Fast in Pittsburgh
While these tips can help you sell your house faster, it still may not be fast enough depending on your situation. Remember – 88 days is what Zillow estimates as the average time it takes to sell a house in Pittsburgh. Can you wait that long? If so, listing your house with a real estate agent might be the best way to go.
But if you need to sell your home faster than that, and the idea of doing any of the tips above stresses you out – or if you simply don’t have time – we can make you a cash offer within 24 hours of seeing your home. If that sounds good to you, fill out our form below, or give us a call at 412-785-7928. We’d love the opportunity to see how we can help.