The market for single family homes in Verona certainly favors sellers over buyers. On the surface this doesn't appear to be the case when you look at the number of homes sold in July. After all, there were only 23 homes sold in July, compared to 37 in July of 2014 and 28 in July of 2013. What these numbers don't show is that the supply of MLS listings is historically low. Although the demand for Verona real estate is very strong, a dearth of inventory is putting a cap on sales and driving prices higher. 

The graph below shows how the July average Verona home price has been trending over time. Excluding the outlier month of July 2006 (when a few luxury sales drove the average price higher), July home prices reached an all-time high in 2015. 

Planning and preparation are critical to any successful endeavor. The same goes with selling a home. If you're like most successful sellers, your preparation will begin several months before your home is listed on the open market. It can be a lot of work, but it all becomes very manageable when you have a knowledgeable real estate agent, a professional home stager, and a professional photographer helping you execute your home selling plan.

Below we offer 4 key steps you can take right now to prepare for your successful sale. Even if your plan is to sell in 2016, now is the perfect time to start laying the foundation for a killer listing.

Step 1: Consult with a Professional Home Stager

Your most fundamental step is to consult with a

In our last post we covered how the MLS limits the listing description to 512 characters of text. The MLS has a similar limitation in place for photos: all listings are limited to a max of 25 pictures.

For many properties, 25 photos is more than sufficient to show the entire home. But for some properties, 25 is not enough. For example, consider the home that sits on a wonderfully-landscaped lot with a variety of perennials in bloom throughout the seasons. One great way to market this home is to show buyers the beauty of the yard in the Spring, Summer and Fall. A proactive listing agent will hire a photographer to produce dozens of high-quality exterior photos, so when the home is ready to list all of the exterior photos are ready for publication.