Even in D.C.’s hot market, sellers need to make their houses stand out

For the past two months, Bob and Sarah Steck have been preparing their 82-year-old Tudor-style home in the District’s Chevy Chase neighborhood for sale.

Bob Steck, a writer and consultant, and Sarah Steck, a psychiatric social worker, have upgraded the home with fresh paint, new kitchen appliances and refinished oak floors. They converted their garage into an office and are marketing the backyard structure as a potential guesthouse, playroom and artist’s studio. For extra measure, they’ve also hired a staging firm to elevate the home’s image with artfully arranged furnishings.

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“We had to create something that didn’t look like we had been living here for 26 years,” said Bob Steck, who estimates the upgrades cost about $15,000 to $20,000.

Such preparations have become essential for homeowners who want their properties to stand out in today’s changing market, even as low mortgage rates and slim inventory of homes within some neighborhoods in the District and close-in suburbs are driving up buyer demand.

The reality is that the Washington-area market is varied, with some homes garnering multiple offers and others languishing for months. Increasingly, a major factor determining which category you’re in rests on what neighborhood you’re in. For instance, in April, houses in Fairfax County were on the market for an average of 48 days and sold for more than 96 percent of their asking price, according to RealEstate Business Intelligence. But in Prince George’s County, which has a glut of distressed properties, houses in April remained on the market an average of 112 days, selling for about 93 percent of their asking price.

Still, it’s not a given that sellers in a hot neighborhoods will get their asking price or that those in cooler markets won’t eventually find a buyer. Real estate experts say houses in high-demand areas must be priced right and in tip-top shape to make buyers feel they are getting the best value. Meanwhile, sellers of houses that are underwater may have new options for a short sale.

“Sometimes it seems like a tale of two cities,” said real estate agent Morgan Knull of Remax Gateway.

“Starting in February, every house in Arlington that one buyer client of mine liked ended up receiving multiple offers and usually escalating over list price before it was all over. We finally ratified an offer on a detached house in North Arlington after the first buyer whose offer was accepted flaked out. Meanwhile, this spring I’ve listed three short sales in the Brookland and the Congress Heights neighborhoods of D.C., where housing prices haven’t recovered sufficiently for underwater sellers to do a regular sale.”

A ‘beautiful’ option for underwater sellers

As an alternative to repeatedly reducing the price, some owners of hard-to-sell properties are resorting to cash incentives and concessions.

To help move a colonial in Upper Marlboro, Selma Jager, a real estate agent at Long & Foster’s Bowie/Crofton office, said she got the seller to ante up a $4,000 bonus to any agent who could close a deal by June 30.