Still time to capitalize on summer sales season

School may be back in session, but it’s still summer here in sunny Southern Nevada. Like triple-digit temperatures, we haven’t seen the last of the summer home selling season.

According to the National Association of Realtors, about one-third of all homes are sold during the summer months.

“People think of spring as a good time to sell a home, and it certainly can be. Winter is over. The weather starts to get warmer, and people who are looking to sell their home start to get their house and yard in selling shape,” said David J. Tina, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. “But here in the Las Vegas area, we usually see local home sales and prices peak during the summer months. We usually see more buyers competing for fewer homes listed for sale. So, you can say that summer is the hottest time of year in more ways than one.”

He said that’s especially true this summer, as local home sales have surged and are on pace for the best sales year since 2012.

At the same time, Southern Nevada has been dealing with less than a two-month supply of homes available for sale when a six-month supply is ideal.

Tina offered these tips to help sellers get the best possible price for their home in the shortest amount of time:

■ Stage your house. Follow the lead of the top homebuilders and the way they present their model homes and make your house as inviting as possible to potential buyers.

■ Make all necessary repairs to your home.Fix all current issues around your home. It’s better for the seller to deal with any repairs before a homebuyer does.

■ Take quality photographs of your home. High-quality professional photos are a key to marketing and selling a home in today’s housing market. With more than 90 percent of all homebuyers starting their search by looking online, good photos are more important now than ever. There’s a direct correlation between the quality of your photos and the number of times your home gets shown to qualified buyers.

■ Work with a Realtors. It’s important to work with a member of the GLVAR and the National Association of Realtors, someone who has experience selling homes like yours and is familiar with your community. Local Realtors know the pricing strategies and buyer preferences that will help you get the best results.

If you keep these tips in mind, Tina said you can increase your chances of quickly finding the right buyer for your home before the weather — and the local housing market — has a chance to cool down.

To learn more about buying or selling a home, visit LasVegasRealtor.com.

GLVAR was founded in 1947 and provides its more than 13,000 local members with education, training and political representation. The local representative of the National Association of Realtors, GLVAR is the largest professional organization in Southern Nevada. Each GLVAR member receives the highest level of professional training and must abide by a strict code of ethics. For more information, visit LasVegasRealtor.com. E-mail your real estate questions to ask@glvar.org.