Even in a sellers’ market in which homes are selling quickly, it’s still important to make a good first impression on potential buyers. Making good decisions before you ever go on the market can bring in the greatest return on your investment.

Here are four simple tips to make sure you maximize the sale of your house:

Price It Right

One of the first things buyers will notice is the price of your house. That’s why it’s important to price it right. Your goal in pricing your house is to draw multiple competing buyers and let bidding wars push the final sales price up. Pricing your house too high means you will likely receive no offers and have to drop the price, probably to the place where you should have started. However, when a home has been on the market a while, buyers come in looking for why it is not selling. You end up chasing the market down. In today’s market, your goal is multiple buyers who not only compete and drive your price up to true market value, but also drop contingencies like the home inspection or appraisal contingency.

Keep It Clean

It may sound simple but keeping your house clean is key to making sure it gets the attention it deserves. It’s important to keep everything tidy for buyers. Take special care with the bathroom, making sure the tile, counters, shower, and floors shine. Same for the kitchen. Before each buyer visits, assess your space and determine what needs your attention. Wash the dishes, make the beds, and put away any toys. Doing these simple things can reduce any potential distractions for buyers. The same applies to your lawn. To make sure your curb appeal stays high, be sure to keep the lawn cut, leaves raked, and sticks picked up.

Make It Easy to Visit

Giving buyers the opportunity to see your house on their schedule can be a true game-changer. Buyers often see many homes at once and usually put together a logical order to see them. If your home is difficult to schedule in that sequence, they are less likely to make an effort to see it. Making your house available as often as possible helps create opportunities for more buyers to fall in love with your house.

Help Buyers Feel at Home

Finally, it’s important for buyers to see all the possible ways they can make your house their next home. The goal is to create a blank canvas on which buyers can project their own visions of living there and loving it. An easy first step to create this blank canvas is removing personal items—pictures, awards, and sentimental belongings—from your space. Spending time on this step can pay off in the long run. And remember as you think about repainting or redoing the floors: it is not about what you like, but about what appeals most to today’s buyers. Call us for advice on that before you start!