Selling you home in San Antonio's hot housing market can be a breeze, especially if you have a good preparation plan in place. Investing time and a little bit of elbow grease into your home before listing can make a huge difference when attracting buyers.

These tips from Realty San Antonio, the Alamo City's property pros, will have people lining up to see your newly listed home as soon as it hits the market.

1. Understand your home's current value
What you paid for and invested into your home is not necessarily the price it will list at now. Shifts in the housing market of your neighborhood, city, or even the country as a whole could drastically affect the value of your home. Use a tool like Market Snapshot to get a comprehensive analysis of your home’s value.

2. Make a relocation plan
If you are selling your home, it’s likely that you’re in the market to buy a new one. Create a plan before listing your home so you have a clear path to your new house. With Realty San Antonio's Cash Bridge programs, you have the power to buy your next home before you sell your current one, all with the flexibility of moving on your own timeline.

3. Identify needed repairs
Take a walk around your home and note any repairs, big or small, that should be made before listing. Look for such things as cracks in the driveway or broken appliances, burned-out light bulbs or paint touch-ups. Hire a professional inspector to do a walkthrough of your home to identify the hard-to-see issues like mold or foundation cracks. Once you have the list of repairs ready, you can choose to either pay for the updates now or factor them into the cost of the sale.

4. Declutter and organize
Storage space is a huge selling point — you want your home to look as roomy as possible, especially when it comes to closets, cabinets, and the garage. Let buyers imagine how they would fill the space by decreasing your items by 50 percent and organizing everything that's left.

5. Apply a fresh coat of (neutral) paint
Looking for an easy way to make your home feel brand-new? A quick paint job in a neutral color like beige or light gray gives buyers the opportunity to envision their belongings in the space, as these colors go with almost everything.

6. Boost your curb appeal
They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but homebuyers beg to differ. The exterior is the first thing buyers see when they come across your listing, so take time to boost your curb appeal by giving your home's facade and yard some TLC. Clear out the weeds and overgrown shrubs and make way for manicured landscaping. Power wash your home to rid it of all the dirt and debris. If allowed by your HOA, freshen up the exterior paint as well.

7. Neutralize odors
Living in your home day in and day out, you probably can't smell the scents that surround you. But prospective buyers walking through the door for the first time sure can, and they'll be turned off by anything unpleasant or unknown. Use home remedies like candles or baking, and either do a deep clean yourself or hire a professional service to eliminate anything that lingers.

8. Invest in professional staging
Homes that have been professionally staged are known to sell faster and often for a higher dollar value. Staging depersonalizes your space so that it can appeal to a variety of buyers looking for a move-in ready home, while also showcasing what the rooms are capable of providing.

9. Hire a real estate professional
Don’t navigate the process of selling your home on your own. Hire a local professional agent to manage the sale of your home and get top dollar on your investment.