How to Get Multiple Offers for Your Duplex

As a property type, duplexes don’t show any signs of losing their immense popularity. In our market, Minneapolis – St. Paul, it’s currently very difficult to come by a duplex. Most buyers are well aware of the fact that scoring a great duplex deal could take months of commitment to the cause. They know that they’ll have to be resilient and stick to an almost instantaneous ability to make offers on properties that fit their needs.

Why do these buyers have to be so aggressive? Because most duplexes worth buying are getting multiple offers within their first few days on the market.

But even so, getting multiple offers for your duplex is not a guarantee. Even in this market, some duplexes are getting stuck on the market for months or not selling at all.

What’s the difference between those properties and the ones that sell immediately (for more than their asking price)?

Let’s find out.

Great Listing Photos

Lots of realtors love to talk about how much of a difference listing photos can make when selling a property. However, the effect is multiplied for duplexes. In a market like the one we’re seeing today, it’s most common to see property photos taken by a realtor with a cell phone.

Because of that, great quality listing photos have the potential to really set your property apart from the pack by helping it to appear as a cut above the rest. Of course, the importance of listing photos varies from property to property depending on the unique scenario you’re facing in your market. A trusted realtor should be able to explain why they do or don’t intend to use professional photos for your listing.

Sensible Updates & Improvements

While it is true that there’s a difference between selling to single-family and duplex buyers, there’s still a certain quality that investors and owner-occupiers expect when they look at a property. Most of the duplexes that have been on the market for quite some time here in Minneapolis have been there because of their quality issues.

This kind of property is the kind that often features weird smells, kitchens in disrepair, and badly damaged or outdated surfaces and flooring.

Before replacing anything, get in touch with duplex specialists like us – we’re able to help you decide on which improvements matter and which don’t.

Making the right upgrades could be all it takes to win over buyers and get multiple offers for your duplex. However, making the wrong upgrades could be altogether ineffective, making it impossible to get your investment back.

Showcasing the Lifestyle

One of the best ways to sell a duplex is by showing off the lifestyle that an owner-occupier could live or the one that an investor could offer to their tenants. There are few better ways to increase a property’s perceived value.

The best way to showcase the lifestyle a property can offer is by staging it. While hiring a stager and renting furniture might not be worth the time, money, or hassle in all cases, making the effort to keep a property clean definitely is. In addition to that, try considering how you can make a common space look bigger and warmer or a kitchen look more functional. Simple adjustments made at a surface level could be key in convincing the buyer that the property you have suits their needs.

The Right Realtor

If you’re hoping to create a bidding war with multiple offers for your duplex, don’t settle for Uncle Joe as your realtor. The multi-family market is a very unique sector of the larger real estate market and you should take it on as a seller with the right kind of partner – a partner that will help you to get the most for your property.

Our team, The Duplex Doctors, is made up of multi-family specialists. Each member of our team has owned at least one duplex themselves and personally knows what a seller is facing when they put a property on the market. Our team leader, Jason Reed, has also bought and sold more duplexes than any other realtor in Minnesota – for five years and counting!