WASHINGTON 鈥� Selling a home can be stressful. So can selling other people鈥檚 homes 鈥� especially when those people are unrealistic and those homes are multimillion-dollar Manhattan apartments.
Ryan Serhant is no stranger to real estate sales. On the Bravo TV show 鈥�,鈥� Serhant and his co-stars move some of the city鈥檚 most expensive properties while managing some of its biggest personalities 鈥� all while balancing their personal lives.
But Serhant鈥檚 career in real estate hasn鈥檛 always been so posh and polished. For starters, he jumped into the business in 2008, right as most were bailing out.
鈥淚n hindsight it was probably the best time to get into the business because it was really hard for everyone, not just me,鈥� he said.
Serhant moved to New York two years prior as a recent college graduate to pursue acting, but never caught a break. A friend recommended real estate, so he gave it a try and quickly became addicted to the industry鈥檚 鈥渘umbers game.鈥� Plus, it meant he didn鈥檛 have to claim defeat and move back home.
鈥淚 think a lot of people who end up being really successful at something are kind of almost forced to do it at the beginning,鈥� Serhant said about never having a backup plan.
In 2017, his team sold more than $830 million in real estate and was ranked the No. 1 sales team in New York City. Serhant recently published his first book, 鈥�,鈥� and stopped by Westlight apartments in Northwest, D.C. to promote it. That鈥檚 where 草莓传媒 caught up with him to discuss his top three tips for selling your own home.
Price
Before you worry about anything else, Serhant said you need to price your home appropriately.
“It鈥檚 interesting to me that in real estate sales in the United States, it鈥檚 the only market where the seller gets to dictate what price to put things out at,鈥� he said.
鈥淪o you have to pick the right price to actually go to market with, otherwise you鈥檙e not a real seller. If you just want to put a lofty price up there, you鈥檙e doing more harm than good.鈥�
Presentation
When you go to sell, it鈥檚 important to stop thinking about your home as your home. Instead, present it as someone else鈥檚.
鈥淭he last thing you want to do is not declutter, not clean up things, and just say, 鈥榃ell I have a great home that should sell for X,鈥� because all you鈥檙e going to do is let people walk into your home, instead of letting them walk into their potential future home,鈥� Serhant said.
If you need a little design inspiration, he suggests picking up a magazine, and styling or arranging your space in a similarly staged fashion.
Patience
If your home is priced right and presented nicely, all you can do is list it and wait 鈥� and a little patience goes a long way.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a weird, weird marketplace, all the time 鈥� whether it鈥檚 going up or it鈥檚 going down. Don鈥檛 be freaked out if your home doesn鈥檛 sell in a day; sometimes it just takes time,鈥� Serhant said.
