Mikael Hastrup Offers Tips For Selling Your Home

Tech CEO and real estate agent Mikael Hastrup offers tips for people looking to sell their home.

The housing market has cooled off in recent months. However, housing prices remain generally high and homes are still selling quickly. That said, if you want to maximize the sale price, it’s smart to be proactive and take steps to ensure that your home sells for as much as possible. Mikael Hastrup, the founder of PropBidder, shares insights.

“Generally speaking, you want to get your home in front of as many people as possible,” says Hastrup. “The more competitive the market, the more likely that prices will go up as people bid for the home.”

During the peaks of the housing market in recent years, many people were willing to pay in excess of list prices. Some people were willing to pay tens of thousands or more over the list price. Why? Short supply and high demand. Once people started bidding on the homes, prices went up as prospective buyers competed.

The housing market has cooled down a bit but remains historically high. The average home price in the fourth quarter in 2019 in the United States was $384,000, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Prices then surged, peaking at nearly $548,000 in 2022 before cooling off, dropping to $535,000. Thus, while home prices may be cooling off, they remain historicaly high.

“Working with real estate agents is important because they can get your home in front of more people,” says Mikael Hastrup. “Likewise, tech platforms, including Redfin and Zillow get properties in front of more people. This was a big part of why I founded PropBidder.”

PropBidder offers an easy way for real estate agents to list homes that people, say investors, can then bid on. By enabling easy bidding, the platform may help people get more for their properties.

Practical Tips for Selling Your Home

Getting your home in front of more people will certainly help. That said, there are other steps you can take to make sure that your home fetches as high of a price as possible. Taking steps to present your home in the right light can make a huge difference.

“Presentation, presentation, presentation,” says Hastrup. “Hiring a professional photographer to take pictures is wise. For many people, photos online will be the first they see of a home.”

Before open houses, it’s wise to clean the house up. If you don’t have the time to clean yourself, you can hire a cleaning crew.

The cleaning crew can clean the home up and make sure that it’s ready for presentation. It’s also smart to touch the home up, perhaps having a new coat of paint put on. Trimming bushes or otherwise sprucing up outdoor spaces could make a big difference.

“You might not want to invest in a home you’re planning to sell in the near future,” notes Mikael Hastrup. “But painting and landscaping can often be done rather cheaply while also adding a lot of value to the home.”