Selling Your Home in Westlake Hills

The community of Westlake Hills, near downtown Austin, is secluded and tight-knit. It maintains the same natural beauty and charm today as it did when it was founded in the 1950s. Despite a small size of only four square miles, there’s plenty to occupy your time in Westlake Hills. With everything from exceptional shopping and dining to golf courses and outdoor recreation on Lake Austin, you’ll love everything it has to offer. The seclusion and private ambiance is one of the many things that makes this one of the most sought-after places to live in Austin. This community features some of Austin’s most high-end and luxurious real estate, including  quaint waterfront cottages, lakeside retreats, and stunning estates. Architectural styles range from modern and contemporary to more traditional houses, so there’s something for everyone.

No matter what type of home you own, if you want to sell, there are several things to consider first. From how you prepare your home to your real estate agent, every detail plays a crucial role. This guide will break down everything you should consider when selling a home in Westlake Hills.

The process of preparing your home is complex and has various detailed steps. There are several things to consider such as what upgrades you should consider and what agent will represent you and your property best.

There are a variety of factors that help you determine a listing price, which is crucial to selling your home. The correct price will help you sell your home faster and appeal to more buyers. A home priced too high will deter buyers and force it to sit on the market longer, potentially causing money loss and stress. A home priced too low can also result in profit loss. Using a home valuation tool is a great idea to understand what your home is worth, but an expert real estate agent is your best option. A good agent will use a comparative market analysis to see what similar listings are selling for and determine an appropriate listing price.

The most important part of the journey is the agent you choose to work with. Your real estate agent will be a part of your journey throughout the process, so having a trusted agent to work with is in your best interest. How do you find an agent you can trust? You’ll want to search for local agents through family, friends, or the internet. Once you narrow your list to a few options, you’ll want to interview them and ask plenty of questions. How long have they worked in the area? Do they work with sellers or just buyers? How many homes have they sold in the last year, and for how much? What sets that agent apart? These questions are a great start and will give you a good idea of whether they are the agent for the job or not.

Upgrades are a great way to give your home more appeal and value, especially when selling. A buyer will first notice curb appeal, so that’s an excellent place to start. Creating an eye-catching exterior will make your home look sharp and gain a significant return on investment (ROI). Simple tasks like cleaning the driveway, power washing walkways, adding flowers and fresh mulch, new landscaping, and landscape lighting are great ways to enhance your curb appeal. Additional minor updates on the interior, like fresh paint, refinished or updated flooring, modern fixtures, and luxury features, will help create a new appearance.

While it’s possible to sell your home anytime, specific times are better and worse. Statistics show that spring months like April and May are often the best time to sell your home. What makes this time of year ideal is that it allows buyers the best timeline to close by summer and not deal with moving kids in the middle of school. Additional studies show that listing your home on a Thursday can increase your views and generate a broader interest much faster. These tips may help you sell your home faster, but if it’s ready and prepared for the market, there is no wrong time to sell.

One great way to sell your home up to 30 times faster and increase profits by up to 20% is to have your home professionally staged. Professional stagers are well-versed in current design trends and luxury upgrades that will make your home’s features stand out. Staging also helps to minimize any negative features and helps accentuate those that will draw a buyer’s interest. If the home is vacant, we like to recommend staging in order to help the potential buyers visualize themselves living in it.

Westlake Hills has a consistent stream of buyers looking for their new home, especially in more recent years. The COVID market created unrealistic expectations for many sellers and since then prices have normalized and the market has stabilized. According to the most recent ABOR market stats, we are seeing an average sale time of about 70 days.

Your goal in a buyer’s market will be to make your home stand out so it gets more traction and looks appealing to buyers. You can accomplish this by using the strategies above to prepare your home, having it professionally staged, and setting an accurate list price. These strategies will go a long way in helping you sell your home quickly in a buyer’s market.

If you’re looking from a market standpoint, it might not be ideal for a quick sale or top dollar. In a buyer’s market, homes tend to sit longer and sell for less due to lower demand. This doesn’t mean you can’t sell your home or it’s not the best time. Using specific strategies and preparations will allow you to sell your home and to sell it in a reasonble amount of time.

Even if your home isn’t paid off, you can still sell it. To sell your home before it’s paid off, you’ll need to sell it for more than what you owe on the mortgage. You'll need to pay the difference if you can’t sell it for more than you owe.

While there are many complexities to selling Westlake Hills real estate, it doesn’t have to be that way. Kathryn Scarborough has the expertise to help you sell your Westlake Hills home. Contact the Kathryn Scarborough Group today if you’re looking for an expert agent to help on your journey.