Summer is right around the corner, and the real estate market is heating up! Are you putting your house up for sale?

Now is an excellent time to do some spring cleaning and stage your home appropriately to optimize your sale price!

It is as easy as 1, 2, 3:

Step 1. Spring cleaning! Whip your house into shape. Here are some great ideas to freshen up your space:

Deep clean your kitchen and bath: Wipe down everything, clean grout between tiles, replace caulking, dust light fixtures and other surfaces you usually do not touch polish metal and remove any mold.

Freshen up your floors: Steam your carpets and hardwood and clean all other floor surfaces with cleaning products designated for each particular type of surface.

Wash walls: Start at the top of the walls, to avoid water spots, and do not press too hard because you may remove paint. Avoid spot cleaning the walls because this will often show. If need be, apply a fresh coat of paint.

Clean your bedding: Vacuum your box spring and mattress, wash the dust-ruffle and mattress pad, and clean all other bedding. This will give each room a fresh scent.

Scrub your vents and coils: Dust and allergens pile up in your house vents and the coils. Dust or wash the vents and your furnace, stove, and refrigerator coils.

Step 2. Organization! Prepare to move and make your home more appealing to the prospective buyer:

Sort through your winter wardrobe: Get rid of clothes and accessories you no longer wear and put the rest of it in storage. This will allow you to clear-up closet space and make things appear more spacious.

Put away winter bedding and blankets: Put the flannels away and keep light, crisp, and clean linens out.

Go through your kitchen and bath: Throw out expired food or products you no longer use. This will free up space. Organize all other products and utensils. You will expedite your packing process, and it will look perfect for showings.

Step 3. Staging! Prep your home for an optimal spring showing following these easy steps: 

Let the light in: Clean your windows and shades and open them up to let in light and fresh air.

Spruce up your yard: The front yard is often the prospective buyer’s first impression of your home and the backyard the last. Clean and put it out your patio furniture, weed, trim, mow and plant some flowers. Consider painting your front door or mailbox to add a pop of color.

Spring is in the air: Bring the fresh smell of the outdoors in by lighting a candle or placing fresh flowers in the home. Be careful not to have any sent to over-barring, focus on a simple and fresh scent.

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We can comfortably consider the first quarter to have been a good start for residential real estate in 2017.

There was certainly plenty to worry over when the year began. Aside from new national leadership in Washington, DC, and the policy shifts that can occur during such transitions, there was also the matter of continuous low housing supply, steadily rising mortgage rates and ever-increasing home prices. Nevertheless, sales have held their own in year-over-year comparisons and should improve during the busiest months of the real estate sales cycle.

New Listings in the Twin Cities region increased 1.3 percent to 8,032. Pending Sales were down 3.0 percent to 5,631. Inventory levels fell 19.9 percent to 10,213 units.

Prices continued to gain traction. The Median Sales Price increased 7.0 percent to $237,500. Days on Market was down 14.1 percent to 73 days. Sellers were encouraged as Months Supply of Homes for Sale was down 23.1 percent to 2.0 months.

The U.S. economy has improved for several quarters in a row, which has helped wage growth and retail consumption increase in year-over-year comparisons. Couple that with an unemployment rate that has been holding steady or dropping both nationally and in many localities, and consumer confidence is on the rise. As the economy improves, home sales tend to go up. It isn’t much more complex than that right now. Rising mortgage rates could slow growth eventually, but rate increases are little more than a byproduct of the strong economy and high demand.

Source: Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors®, Monthly Indicators Report. All data comes from NorthstarMLS. http://maar.stats.10kresearch.com/reports

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