How to Get the Highest Price for Your MCM Home

A mid century modern home cleaned up and ready for buyers to inspect

Tips to maximize the sales price on your mid century modern home

As a real estate agent specializing in mid century modern homes, I am acutely aware of what it takes to get the most for a mid century modern house. Many of these items work for any house, but particular strategies outlined here provide big bang-for-the-buck impact for an mcm home. If you can’t do all of these things, do as many as possible to maximize the price you get in your sale.

Complete needed repairs like the roof prior to listing your home

The first question I am often asked at an open house is “What can you tell me about the roof?” Buyers know that a roof repair can be very expensive. If the roof is old or the condition is unknown, buyers instantly start deducting roof replacement from what they would pay for the house. Or they will get an inspection after having an offer accepted and then deduct the roof repairs using a request for repairs negotiation. Even an allowance for roof repairs sends the message that there is work to be done and effort required after buying the house.

On the other hand, if the roof is repaired or in great shape, this biggest of all objections is removed from the purchase. So let the buyers know.

Read our article about flat and low-slope roofs.

This Streng Bros mid century modern atrium home photographed from the inside after staging.

Provide an up-to-date inspection report to home buyers

Like the roof, unexpected repairs for dry rot, pool, deck and other items can scuttle a sale. By providing a comprehensive inspection report with the disclosures, a buyer can be made aware of the condition of the house before buying. This means the offer you get for the house will be more realistic and more likely to close. Repairs discovered after the house is under contract can result in negotiations for repairs which can torpedo a deal. After a sale falls out of contract, the house goes back on the market and you have lost a lot of time. Your house also can get a stigma because it was on the market for so long.

Before listing, know ages for the roof, HVAC, water heater, etc

An inspector will note the condition of your roof, appliances, water heater, furnace and air continuing system. They will turn them on and make sure they work. But they won’t necessarily know the age of these items. If you have records of the dates of the last roof installation or maintenance, that is very useful information. Same with purchase dates for appliances, HVAC system and water heater. If you have a pool, maintenance records and dates are great.

A vacant home is much easier to stage and prepare for showings.

Move out before listing your home

Moving out of your home before listing isn’t always possible, but can really help you get more money in a sale. Agents can schedule tours with ease. Open houses can be longer and more frequent. Lately I have seen lots of agents touring houses and doing videos that they post on their social media. This can only be done for a well-staged, vacant home.

Stage and declutter house before selling

If you move out, the house should be staged. Preferably with mid century furniture and art in a minimalist style. I have seen serious mid century oriented buyers turn their noses up at a house just because they dislike the staging, That bad first impression only reflects negatively on how they value the house.

If you aren’t able to move out, the house should be decluttered as much as possible. Remove personal artifacts like photos and diplomas. Minimize the amount of things hanging on the walls. Standard staging tips apply here. If you can augment non-midcentury furnishings with a few signature mid century pieces, all the better.

Stage your mid century modern home with corresponding mcm furniture and art to attract mcm buyers.

Clean and maintain landscaping while selling your home

You may not have the money to re-landscape your outdoor areas. But you should clean up your existing landscaping at the very least. Trim and prune trees. Shape hedges. Remove dead plants and flowers. Strategically plant flowers if possible. Clean the weeds out of sidewalk cracks. Keep your yard care professional coming if you use one.

Clean the windows of your listed homes

Clean windows let in light and make the house feel more open. It also impresses people walking through by giving the house a well-maintained feel.

Clean up your landscaping and stage outdoor areas to make them inviting.

Pressure wash the exterior and hardscape before listing

Pressure washing the outside of your house has a similar effect to cleaning the windows. It makes the house feel refreshed. Mossy or dirty sidewalks and driveways can be transformed by a good pressure washing.

Have mcm appropriate art, staging, improvements in your listed home

Not only will mid century furniture and art impress people touring the house, it looks great in the photos and can attract people to look at the house. Find a stager that understands this and has mcm items and sensibilities. I saw one stager who actually placed rugs on top of carpet and put fluffy throw blankets on the beds. It did not fit the aesthetic of the mcm house.

A bathroom staged and cleaned up for listing photos.

Install appropriate mcm flooring before listing

In general, mcm buyers don’t like carpet. Polished concrete, wood, high quality vinyl plank are great choices. If you have the money to replace flooring keep it clean and as uniform throughout the house as possible.

Create great photography including video and aerial for your listing

If your house looks great, show it off in the most ways possible. Bright architectural style photographs, high quality video and aerial photography can really make a difference. Videos can be edited at different lengths for use on websites, social media and the multiple listing services. Bad cell phone photos taken by the agent with dark shadows, vertical lines keystoning toward a point and distracting clutter do not impress buyers.

The hero image, the first one on the listing, needs to be an attention grabber and does not necessarily have to be a full view of the house from the front. Mid century homes are often most impressive from the back with pools, impressive patios and lots of glass that allows the house to blend indoor and outdoor. Does your house have soaring ceilings with beautiful exposed beams? If that’s the best view, use it as the hero image!

Make sure to present photos of unique features the house possesses like great views.

Create a custom website for your house listing

A custom website for your house elevates the profile. Luxury homes have their own website. Conversely homes with their own website feel more like a luxury home. Features can be listed in a more cohesive fashion than they can on the multiple listing services or apps like Zillow, Redfin and Homes.com. You want to control how your house is presented, this can be done with a custom website. You can see an example of one of my websites here.

Hire Scott R. Kline the mcm specialist to sell your house

I only list mid century homes. When a potential buyer or agent asks me a question I can dive as deeply into the answer as they need. I also know how to find comparable sales that justify the higher price that your mcm gem deserves. I have an email list of buyers from all the mid century open houses I host. I know other mid century oriented agents from other markets who can bring buyers to your listing. I have appraisers call me when they are trying to justify a price that seems high for the market. I understand mcm sales prices and why they are higher.

They go to the expert. So should you. Call or email me today. Let’s get the most for your mid century home.