As home prices continue to rise with the summer temperatures in the Phoenix real estate market, one top producing professional, Brenton Fernandez, shared his insights in a recent interview on Business Innovators Magazine about how a home seller can command top dollar for their property.
Although hit hard by the downturn in the housing market, many experts agree that Phoenix home sales and prices are now experiencing an increase in growth and there seems to be some optimism about the future. According to Michael Orr, ASU housing expert, sales volume jumped 27 percent compared to March 2014 for homes between $200,000 and $500,000.
According to Fernandez, during a consultation, he provides a detailed checklist of over 200 items involved in preparing a home to capture top dollar. Some of the more obvious things like de-cluttering a home and removing personal items are on most short lists of selling tips but Fernandez also helps sellers to understand where their money is best spent when preparing a home for sale. “I employ simple strategies to increase the value of a home without spending a fortune in the process.”, Fernandez explains. In the in-depth interview discusses the right and wrong things to do when trying to prepare a house for sale.
“The kitchen is the heart of every home and about 8 of every 10 homes is sold by the kitchen, by the way it looks and it’s design, so focusing and spending money on a kitchen is where you’re going to get the best return on your money.”, Fernandez further explained. “Typically, I like to tell homeowners that they usually can get 1 and a half times the money they invest on kitchen upgrades back in value.”
Fernandez’s advice is echoed in a recent HGTV feature article by Kathy McCleary stating, “In the hottest housing markets, springing for a kitchen or bath remodel is a sure-fire investment, often returning more than 100 percent of the cost.”
Fernandez explains that it’s not just remodeling and upgrades that help sell a home for top dollar. “Often times, it’s the little things that can make all the difference to a prospective buyer and impact how fast a home sells and for how much”, he continued. “A prospective buyer wants to imagine themselves living in the home. Anything that distracts from that can interfere with negotiating the best deal for a seller”.
Brenton Fernandez has been listed in the Top 200 Power Brokers in the Nation 2011 to 2014 and is the Top Agent Magazine’s Company of the Year. He’s at the number one brokerage in the East Valley in Production and featured in the President’s Circle in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.