SEATTLE, June 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Selling a home
is one of the most stressful experiences in modern life, second
only to a relationship break-up. More than three quarters of
Americans who have sold a home in the past three years say it was a
stressful experience, and it could easily become more stressful as
the market slows and turns in favor of buyers.
According to a new Zillow® surveyi, 36 percent of
home sellers say the process left them in tears, with millennials
and parents far more likely to cry at some point during the
sale. Of those who cried, 20 percent shed tears five times or
more.
It's no wonder. In a world of hyper-connection and
on-demand everything, selling a home traditionally is one of the
few things that has not gotten easier over time.
"If you've ever sold a home before, you know how daunting the
process can be," said Zillow Brand President Jeremy Wacksman. "Anticipating that stress can
be a huge obstacle that keeps homeowners from moving on to the next
stage of their lives. Our survey found more Americans were
stressed over selling their home than planning a wedding, getting
fired or becoming a parent."
Selling a home can be challenging for many reasons. Among those
surveyed, 70 percent were stressed by uncertainty over the sale
price, 69 percent were stressed their home wouldn't sell in their
desired timeframe, 65 percent were stressed an offer would fall
through and 65 percent were stressed about fixing up their home for
sale.
According to Zillow's latest research, 61 percent of sellers are
buying a new home at the same time, which adds significant pressure
and financial complexity to the process. Zillow's survey
shows that nearly 7 out of 10 people mistimed the process, with
more than one-third saying the sale of their home took longer than
expected.
Sellers can take steps to help speed up, streamline and
de-stress the process:
- Prepare your home for sale early and be strategic about
when to list. Nationwide, the best time to sell a home is
May 1 to May 15. Homes sold in the
first half of May sell six days faster and for $1,600 more than the average listing. The Zillow
Owner Dashboard is the fastest way to learn which month is the best
to list a house in your area.
- Pay attention to online curb appeal. The vast majority of
buyers begin their home search online so talk to your agent about
using high-resolution photography to highlight your home's unique
features on all devices.
- Be ready to make concessions. Zillow research finds 83 percent
of sellers make trade-offs with buyers, the most common being the
inclusion of appliances in the sale.
Homeowners looking for convenience, certainty and control now
have an alternative to the traditional sale process. With Zillow
Offers®, home sellers can request a free, no-obligation cash offer
from Zillow to buy their home, and they can pick a close date that
works best for them – without having to worry about open houses or
fixing up the home for sale.
Since Zillow Offers launched just over a year ago, more than
100,000 sellers have requested an offer from Zillow to buy their
home, and Zillow now receives a request for a Zillow Offer every
two minutes. To meet this strong demand, Zillow is
accelerating Zillow Offers' expansion, with plans to operate in 20
markets by the end of Q1 2020. Zillow Offers is currently
available in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Denver, Charlotte, Raleigh, Houston, Riverside, Dallas, Minneapolis and Orlando.
Zillow
Zillow is the leading real estate and rental marketplace
dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and
knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with
great real estate professionals. In addition, Zillow operates an
industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow
Group's Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. Dr. Gudell and her
team of economists, data analysts, applied scientists and engineers
produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450
markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the
quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more
than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and
market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value
Index over the next five years. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned
and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG), and
headquartered in Seattle.
Zillow is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.
i These findings are from a Zillow-commissioned Ipsos
poll conducted May 3 - 17, 2019. For
the survey, a sample of 1,068 adults ages 18 and over from the
continental U.S., Alaska and
Hawaii was interviewed online, in
English. In order to qualify for the survey, respondents had to
have sold their home within the past three years. The precision of
Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In
this case, the poll has a credibility interval of ±3.4 percentage
points for all respondents.
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SOURCE Zillow