What to consider if you’re thinking of selling your home in Ottawa

Getting ready to sell your home? Taylor Bennett from the Bennett Property Shop breaks down what you should be asking if you're thinking about listing!

It’s hard to know when it’s the right time to sell your home, and if you’ve been looking for the opportune moment to offload your property, one expert says there are a few important considerations to make before you put up a listing.

Taylor Bennett, broker with Bennett Property Shop, joined CTV Your Morning Ottawa to offer some insight for potential sellers.

Know your micro market

Bennett says one of the first things homeowners should do before selling is assess what’s happening in the market near their home.

“One of those questions would be, what’s going on in my area?” Bennett said.

According to Bennett, many homeowners take the wrong approach to identifying their market.

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, I live in Kanata, Kanata’s my area,’ or ‘I live in Orléans, Orléans is my area.’ Well, in Kanata, Orléans, most of the suburbs, we have about 15 different districts within those communities themselves,” Bennett said.

Rather than comparing your home to others in your suburb or community, Bennett suggests shrinking your scope.

“Within those different districts, we have ‘micro markets,’” Bennet Said. “You have a different mix of homes, different amenity access, it can deviate very differently from different price points, and the price selling strategy based on what’s going on.”

“Knowing, what your market is, what your micro market is, will dictate whether it’s a good time to sell or not,” Bennett added.

Is it the right time to sell?

Bennett says he wouldn’t consider it either a buyers or sellers’ market, but that can vary depending on your micro market.

“Overall, a balanced market, but some are very competitive for buyers, and some are very competitive for sellers right now,” Bennet said.

According to Bennett, homes typically stay on the market for 28 to 33 days, but that also varies by property type and micro market.

While many people chose to wait until the winter is over to list their property to catch the “spring market,” Bennett says that may not always be the best decision.

“We’ve heard of the spring market, people think it’s the best time to sell. Of course, prices tend to be a little bit higher around there, but there’s a lot more inventory, a lot more competition on the market during that time as well,” Bennett said.

“Not all properties look their best in the spring, not all look their best in the summer, some look their best in the fall.”

For those who have been waiting for the perfect time to sell, Bennett says to keep in mind that it’s impossible to be certain how the economy will perform in the future.

“We only really know what’s going on with the economy right now,” he said. “So, in terms of the market right now, it’s still very healthy, it’s still an excellent time to sell.”

What to do if you’re ready to sell

If you think you’re ready to list your home, Bennett says the first step is to meet with a realtor to prepare a selling strategy.

“Contact a realtor, get a full analysis on your property, figure out the best time of year at the best pricing strategy,” Bennett said.

Once your property is up for sale, Bennett suggests asking your realtor for metrics on your listing to ensure your home is being seen by buyers.

“We have a formula of so many people should see your property online, there should be so many in person visits, should be so many offers that should be coming in,” Bennett said.

“There’s very different ways to bring in buyers, you want to make sure your realtor is doing the right job, and ask for those metrics every week, ask for those numbers to see where your property stands.”

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