Happy Independence Day! The Real Group team will be celebrating the summer holiday the old fashioned way today, with cookouts, family time, and, of course, fireworks.

With that said, our team never takes a break from thinking about Chicago real estate; it’s just what we do! And July is the perfect time for you to think about real estate too, whether that means beginning the search for a new home or finally taking the plunge and listing your current one.

For all the would-be sellers out there looking to take advantage of the magic of the summer housing season, here are the big ways to make sure that your home sale pops like an Independence Day firework:

Price It Right from the Beginning

There are all sorts of odd predictors that can help you gauge whether or not your home is going to sell. Those are all well and good, but it’s important to realize that the most effective way to sell your home quickly is to price it right from the very beginning.

To find the right list price for your home, your real estate team will consider a wide array of factors: They’ll look to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and examine recent sales; they’ll consider market conditions and data for your Chicago neighborhood; and they’ll consider the many unique features that set your home apart from the rest of the pack.

With all of this in mind, it’s important to find a real estate agent who knows the ins and outs of your marketplace, as they’ll be far more likely to find the right list price for your home early on, helping make sure that you not only sell your home more quickly, but get every penny that it’s really worth.

Stage Your Home

A big part of effectively selling your home comes down to adopting the right mindset, to being able to take a step back and look at your property not as your beloved old place, but as a product that needs to be marketed to outsiders and newcomers.

And, just as shoes, clothes, or cars need to be presented in their best light in order to sell, so does your house or condo. In real estate, that means you’ll need to spend some time on staging.

Broadly speaking, there are a few key elements that make up effective staging: You’ll want to depersonalize the property, declutter the rooms, improve the home’s exterior curb appeal, and set up furnishings in a way that highlight the size and functionality of the space. There are many levels of home staging, ranging from complete design overhauls to minor furniture adjustments, and you’ll want to talk to your real estate team and a staging professional about what will work best for your sale.

Take High Quality Photographs

Once you and your team are comfortable with the staging of your home, you’ll want to bring in a photographer to take high quality photos of the entire property.

While many first-time sellers can be hesitant about bringing on a professional photographer – either out of embarrassment, or out of fear of racking up another expense – we see it as a must-have for a successful sale today. Indeed, the Real Group team brings on a photographer to capture every single one of our listings.

We live in an age where inexpensive digital cameras and cell phones have made everyone an amateur photographer – but when it comes to showcasing your home in the best light to a prospective buyer, an iPhone picture just won’t cut it. Real estate photographers know how to capture the lighting, design, and scale of a home in a way that the average person just can’t. And getting beautiful, eye-catching visuals is essential to helping your home stand out on the internet, where the vast majority of homebuyers begin their journey today.

Which brings us to…

Actively Market Your Property Online

In order to successfully sell your home quickly and easily today, it’s important to understand how buyers are finding and committing to properties. While the tried-and-true classics of realty will always have a place, it’s not all about yard signs, open houses, or newspaper listings anymore.

Instead, buyers – and the tools at their disposal – are more sophisticated than ever, and they’re likely cross-referencing multiple sources when it comes to finding a new home; as of the summer of 2017, most of these resources are online-only.

Here at Real Group, we make sure that all of our listings are syndicated across multiple real estate websites and services. In addition to the MLS and Zillow, our team is also active on social media, and we regularly use Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to help new leads find their potential dream homes. Spreading the word about your listing far and wide is an easy way to make sure that your sale will soon be sizzling like a burger on a grill.

From all of us here at Real Group, we’d like to wish you and yours a happy Independence Day! Of course, just because it’s the summer doesn’t mean we’re slacking off. We’re here and always ready to help you buy or sell in Chicagoland, so don’t hesitate to drop us a line today!