Repositioning Your Listing: Set the Home Up for Its Buyer

Repositioning Your Listing: Set the Home Up for Its Buyer

Direct answer: For Grand Rapids sellers whose home is not selling, repositioning means staging, repainting, and rearranging the home so it is set up for the buyer who is going to buy it — not for the seller who is leaving it.

What repositioning actually is

Repositioning a property ultimately comes down to staging. People often overlook repainting some walls, moving furniture around, removing furniture, and bringing new furniture in.

That is repositioning: not a new house, but a house presented differently — arranged for the person who will walk in next, rather than the person who lives there now.

A home that sat, then felt different

Steve tells the story of a property that had been on the market for six months. After it was repositioned and relisted, he could feel the difference just walking in — compared with how it had felt before, it was not positioned right for the buyer.

Same home. Different feeling. That is what repositioning does: it changes how the home reads the moment a buyer steps inside.

Ask who the future buyer is

So when you are interviewing a real estate agent — whether that is Steve or someone else — ask who they believe the future buyer is going to be, and whether the house is set up for that person.

That is the question behind every staging and repainting decision. If the home is not set up for its buyer, the right buyer can walk through and still walk away.

You are leaving it — set it up for who is coming

And when you are selling a house, remember: you are trying to get rid of it. You are not trying to keep it.

So do not get emotionally attached if your agent asks you to adjust something for the buyer who is out there. Reposition your house. Get it ready for the consumer who is going to be buying it, since you are leaving it.

Key takeaways

• Repositioning means staging, repainting walls, moving furniture around, removing furniture, and bringing new furniture in.

• A home that sat on the market for six months felt different after repositioning and relisting — it had not been positioned right for the buyer before.

• When interviewing an agent, ask who they believe the future buyer is and whether the house is set up for that person.

• When selling, you are trying to get rid of the house, not keep it — so do not get emotionally attached to adjustments made for the buyer.

• Reposition the house and get it ready for the consumer who is going to buy it, since you are leaving it.

FAQ

What does repositioning a listing mean?

Staging, repainting walls, moving furniture around, removing furniture, and bringing new furniture in — presenting the home for its buyer rather than its current owner.

Can repositioning really change how a home feels?

Yes. Steve describes a home that sat for six months and felt different after repositioning and relisting, because it had not been positioned right for the buyer before.

What should I ask an agent about repositioning?

Who they believe the future buyer is going to be, and whether the house is set up for that person.

Grand Rapids Downtown Condos FAQ Series

1. How Much Space Do You Need?

2. Association Fees

3. Renting Out a Condo

4. Downtown Parking

5. Financing Condos

6. Repositioning Your Listing — you are here

Watch me explain it

Here is an older video of me explaining the process. It might be older, but the info still rings true.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWqSgnMsbSA

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Author: Steve Volkers, Associate Broker, Steve Volkers Group at Five Star Real Estate, Grand Rapids, MI — phone 616-717-2179, stevevolkersgroup.com