Elise Lee’s Ultimate Guide to Selling Your Home in Kailua

Between its glorious, immaculate beaches and understated sophistication, Kailua, Hawaii, seems to sell itself. Oahu’s windward gem abounds with natural beauty and upscale amenities in equal measure.

As a homeowner in Kailua, you know its extraordinary appeal, and you certainly wouldn’t be faulted for adding your residence to the list of Kailua homes for sale. While the rest of the country is witnessing dramatic drops in home prices, property values in Hawaii are staying strong.

But you might have a little less knowledge on the best way to go about selling your prime piece of Kailua real estate. This guide is here to help. Read on for Elise Lee’s six tips for an expeditious and successful sale.

You may be tempted to forge ahead and sell your home entirely on your own, particularly in a state as desirable as Hawaii. Selling a home entails a great deal more than simply listing it on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and posting a few photographs online. From gaining a thorough understanding of your home’s fair market value to ensuring a smooth closing, selling a home is an intricate, highly specialized, and detailed process that requires a tremendous amount of time, energy, and expertise. In other words, working with a quality real estate agent can save you from grave errors, seller’s remorse, or watching your Kailua home languish on the market.

Oahu realtors may be as plentiful as tourists (or so it seems), which is a boon for sellers. You have a bevy of consummate professionals from which to choose. But rather than blindly going with the first listing agent that comes your way through your landscaper or colleague, interview two to three to ensure you have chemistry. Ideally, you should work with an agent who specializes in Kailua real estate and has a proven grasp of the nuances of Oahu’s real estate market.

Chances are you’ve built many amazing memories in your Kailua home. This isn’t just understandable; it’s also expected and promising in that your home is evidence of its power to nurture people.

But without exercising some measure of objectivity, you may have difficulty recognizing the aspects of your home that could use refinement. Or you may be tempted to linger in the doorways during showings and open houses, which is bound to make prospective buyers feel awkward.

Realize that selling your home is, first and foremost, a business transaction and that you’ll stand to make greater gains if you remain focused on making a smooth, lucrative sale and moving onto your next adventure.

With that necessary impartiality solidly in hand, walk around your property and imagine seeing it for the first time. Does your plumeria tree need to be trimmed to open up the views? Has the paint on your front door become sun-faded? Are your appliances not only in excellent working order but also appear pristine? And do you have a glut of paintings and decor that might distract a buyer from seeing your home’s beautiful bone structure?

The more you concentrate on making a stellar first impression and depersonalizing your space to ignite a prospective buyer’s imagination, the higher your chances of making a swift, profitable sale.

You may be dead set on selling your Kailua home to a local, but the fact remains that many properties in Hawaii have historically sold to foreign buyers. Indeed, if yours is a luxury estate, there’s a solid chance your home will have tremendous appeal to mainland and international investors.

Leverage this to your advantage. Ensure your windows are in impeccable condition to highlight your views. Set out pots of palms near your front door, back door, and throughout your home. Keep out the pieces of decor that evoke Hawaii, whether it’s a koa wood bowl or a paddle that’s in mint condition. And prior to showings and open houses, fill your home with vases of birds of paradise, ginger, heliconia, and pikake. The latter will make your home smell amazing.

Hopefully, the listing agent you’ve carefully chosen will have advised you to hire a licensed inspector to conduct an investigation of your home before you’ve announced that it’s for sale.

If not, add it to your to-do list, as the benefits of a pre-listing inspection are legion. It’ll alert you to any critical repairs or insect infestations that must be handled before you’ve decided on an asking price. This will provide you with a leg up during negotiations and save you from the unwanted surprise of learning you need massive roof repairs or the complete rewiring of your electrical system, both matters that may force you to lower the price of your home or grant the buyer a potentially heavy repair credit.

Your home may be gorgeously decorated, but professional home stagers have unique insight into the psychology of prospective buyers. Expertly staged homes sell faster and may garner more profit in return.

If your listing agent is well-connected on Oahu, as they should be, they can easily recommend someone who can transform your home beautifully for marketing materials, showings, and open houses.

Have you recently decided to sell your home in Kailua? Elise Lee may be the listing agent to bring along on your journey. With over a decade of experience in luxury real estate, she brings an impressive educational background to the table and the depth of knowledge that only those who were born and raised in Hawaii possess. Specializing in Kailua beach homes and high-end properties, she approaches every transaction with determination and professionalism. Schedule a consultation with her today for a seamless experience.