Selling Your Home, pointers to make a great sale
Even as new houses have been steadily increasing in size in recent years, the square footage of yard space surrounding them has continued to decline in many areas. That’s good news for some home buyers but not for others.
“Postage-stamp lots are prevalent in high-cost communities, as well as in difficult-to-build areas where the terrain is rough or the zoning is restrictive,” says James W. Hughes, a professor and housing expert at Rutgers University.
Americans have traditionally relished wide open spaces, and a large piece of land has been a key selling point for real estate through the decades. But Hughes says some purchasers — especially those in mid-life and beyond — prefer small, low-maintenance lots.
As real estate agents know, there’s an art to selling a home with a petite yard. One obvious strategy is to call attention to the property’s strengths inside the house. Another is to be sure your marketing materials appeal to an audience that has no use for a large yard or is at least indifferent.
Here are several pointers for homeowners — and their listing agents — who want to make the most of the sale of a property with a tiny lot:
Emphasize the interior space in the home.
The American landscape is now dotted with an increasing number of “McMansions,” oversized houses often set on diminutive lots.
“A surprising number of today’s buyers will accept the trade-off of a small lot to get a really big house with lots of bells and whistles,” says Mark Nash, a real estate broker and author of “1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home.”
While baby boomers often prefer smaller lots, Nash says more dual-income couples with school-age children now realize they have little time — or money — to keep up a big yard. Much of their time is taken up ferrying their kids back and forth to athletic practices or music lessons.
Assuming your home has the sort of large rooms that appeal to contemporary buyers, be sure that the brochure your listing agent prepares for your place includes a floor plan plus room dimensions.
Underscore the highlights of your location.
Does your home offer easy commuting access to major employment centers and convenient roadways — without being too close to noisy thoroughfares? Can children walk to high-quality neighborhood schools? Are fine restaurants, movie theaters and shopping venues just a short drive away? If so, you’ll want to highlight the advantages of living where you do.
As Hughes says, one way to make sure that prospective buyers appreciate your location is to create a colorful map that puts your house in context with neighborhood amenities.
Enhance the appeal of your tiny yard.
You needn’t have a big estate to make the land around your home more fetching to prospective buyers. A small yard can also seem welcoming if it is well-landscaped and cleared of clutter.
Once the purging is done, Hughes recommends you create an attractive new outdoor seating area — or improve the one you have — by adding lawn furniture. Your goal is to show prospects how they could use your small yard as an “outdoor room.”
Make visitors aware that your home could be expanded.
Maybe your property is too small to ever qualify for a feature story in Better Homes and Gardens. Still, your lot might be big enough to allow for an addition that expands your interior living space. If so, you’ll want to let prospective buyers know this is possible, Hughes says.