How to sell for more than your neighbor? 3 strategic steps that deliver results

Anyone can post an ad on a real estate portal. That isn't art. The art is selling an apartment at a time when the market is full of onlookers - and doing it at a price that makes the neighbors jealous.

5 years and hundreds of transactions have taught me one truth. A real estate transaction is probably the biggest business decision of your life - so treat it accordingly.

Here is my strategic view of how we at Ellix achieve results that are not just average.

The biggest mistake I see is this: the owner looks in the portal at what price the neighbor is offering, adds 10% (after all, the kitchen furniture is nicer) and waits. Three months later, the ad is still up on the portal and the price is 8% lower. Because the portal's asking price and the notary's transaction price are two completely different worlds.

My job is to look at the numbers with which real transactions are locked. If I say that your home is worth 185,000, but you want to try with 205,000, I'll tell you straight - we're wasting time. The right price is a magnet that attracts several buyers at once. Last month, as a result of exactly this situation, I sold an apartment in 18 days and 4% above the initial price because competition arose. This was not luck, but a conscious decision on how to set the price.

Regarding marketing, many brokers talk about the "home's story." I talk about who the buyer is and where they are. In the case of an investment apartment, I emphasize the yield and location. In the case of a family home, I sell peace of mind and logistics - proximity to school, parking, neighborhood. Professional photo and video are a minimum for us, not a bonus. In addition, we target social media advertising precisely to those whose income and lifestyle match the property. And often, the buyer is already on my contact list before the ad even goes public.

Regarding pre-sale preparation, I sometimes tell clients things they don't want to hear. If a home is full of personal belongings and cat scratches, you're selling a "used apartment." If we do staging and cleaning, we are selling a "new lifestyle." People buy with their eyes and make a decision within the first 30 seconds. A prepared property sells on average 15% faster - that's math, not emotion.

Recently, I had a client who tried to sell by themselves for half a year. The result: zero interested parties. I took over the object, changed the visual presentation, adjusted the price, and we found a buyer in 12 days. The owner paid the commission, but ended up in a bigger surplus than they would have by paying empty utility bills themselves.

If you want to know what your property is truly worth today - even if it's not the sum you hoped to hear - write to me.

Get in touch and let's get it done:

Mariella Rosin | Ellix Estate Co-founder and Partner | mariella.rosin@ellix.ee | +372 502 7998