The Olathe housing market continues to be very low on inventory. This creates new challenges for real estate agents and sellers. Pricing a home and negotiating for the best possible sale price requires a different approach.

The good news is that with the increase in equity and the prices buyers are willing to pay for homes, a seller can afford to prepare a home for selling. A recent study from the National Association of Realtors shows that sellers are getting a much higher return for the improvements they make on their home. Personally, I call this the HGTV affect. If a home looks like HGTV buyers are willing to pay more.

Recently, we had a contractor working on a vacant home show it to a buyer that was passing by. The buyer was not excited or interested in the house. Two days later we had the home staged like HGTV and the Realtor brought the buyers back and they loved it and wrote an offer! Being a real estate professional able to see past staging and decorating I would not have believed this if I did not experience it. Neither did the buyer’s agent. She asked me for the name of the stager. My seller netted at least two to three times the cost of the staging and furniture rental.

Olathe continues to remain desirable due to the good schools, convenient location, amenities and home values.