Home sales can often feel like mysterious things to the outside eye. But when a seller gets $200,000 for their 3-bedroom home in January and their next-door neighbor gets $300,000 for a comparable home, it can unfortunately feel both mysterious and unfair. But there are forces at work when it comes to the final price of a home if a seller knows where to look. For homeowners hoping to get a bidding war started for their home, especially in a seller’s market, there are several factors to keep in mind.

Choose the Starting Price Wisely

There is a sweet spot when it comes to pricing a home, and it’s normally a tad below what the home is valued (around 5 percent). Too high, and people will dismiss the home before they even see it. Too low, and people will believe the seller has something to hide. The best way to determine the starting price is to look at similar homes that have been sold in the past two months. Homeowners may also want to consider setting a deadline for the offers to further send a message that the home won’t last forever. Exact strategies when it comes to pricing and offers will depend on the area of the seller, so ask a real estate agent for advice on how to arrive at the details.

Share, Share, Share

Too much advertising for a home will make the seller look desperate, but not enough will lower the chances of a bidding war. Sellers may want to consider holding a broker open house, meaning that only real estate agents representing interested parties can come to see the home. The more exposure the home has, the more likely it is that several agents will recommend the property to idea buyers.

In the right climate, even fixer-uppers may spark a bidding war for those with big dreams. In addition, the listing, photos, and copy should also appear on both a reputable website and social media pages. Content should not only be factual, it should also have a little color attached to it. The character and personality on the internet should align with the priorities of the target demographic of buyers.

Open House Madness

An open house should be staged soon after the listing hits the public eye to inspire a sense of immediacy in buyers. Some sellers won’t have any private showings until that open house, while others may have back-to-back private.showings to show each buyer how popular the home is. When it comes open houses, most follow a specific formula and process. Ultimately, this uniformity often makes all of the open houses blend together for buyers.

But there’s nothing saying that sellers can’t switch it up a little. For example, if a seller lives in a fairly young area, they may want to hire a DJ, cater from the local hot spot, or even employ a psychic to read everyone’s palm. Most of the time, these extravagant measures are too expensive to make them worth it. However, the buzz they create may be good enough to promote the property’s good vibes (and the ultimate one-upmanship).

A bidding war can’t be forced, but it can be encouraged, whether you live in Brooklyn Park or elsewhere. The more people the home attracts, the more likely it is that there will be more intense competition among a few key players. The key is to make an impression in the minds of the buyers, whether it’s in-person, through a real estate agent, or online.