Spring is officially here, and the Boston real estate market certainly is heating up like the weather! Nick gives tips for sellers looking to make a move this spring - and how to best prepare your home for sale, as well as pricing their home competitively. He also offers an important suggestion for buyers navigating the common bidding wars we are seeing in the market today.

As the spring market fully gets underway, we see a vast amount of activity, especially in suburban markets. What can sellers in these areas do to make their homes more appealing to buyers?

Even though inventory is low in the suburbs and homes fly off the shelves, it still doesn’t mean that a seller shouldn’t position their property in the best possible way.  My recommendation is to walk through your property with your agent, make a list of things that might distract a buyer, and then choose which items are worth spending some time fixing or updating. Something I suggest doing in most cases is decluttering, painting, and making sure your yard and landscaping are looking good.

What is the number one consideration when it comes to pricing a home to sell in this market?

My biggest piece of advice regarding pricing a property in a hot market like this is not to overprice it.  Buyer’s expectations right now are that any good property is going to go over the asking price.  However, if you price it above the market and don’t get offers during the first week on the market, buyers might start to think something is wrong and not want to put in an offer.  Missing out on the multiple offer scenarios that most listings are getting during the first week on the market will likely mean that you have to accept an offer lower than you would have if you priced it correctly from the start.

If you could give one tip to a buyer competing in the market’s bidding wars right now, what would it be?

The biggest tip I could give any buyer right now is to be patient and manage your expectations. As you know, the market is highly competitive, so you have to be prepared to potentially miss out on some homes you love simply because someone else is willing to pay more than you or remove contingencies that you aren’t ready to remove. And that's okay! Work with your agent to find the perfect home that makes sense for you.