Price it right and offers will come
As we start to see a slight surge in home sales perhaps it could be attributed to pricing your home within market value. In the 25 years that I’ve been a Realtor, I’ve watched the markets rise and fall. One thing I know for sure is that if you price your home properly, no matter what the market conditions are like the offers will come.
Something you need to take into consideration when pricing your home are: who is buying and selling in your market, the demographics, location, condition and comparables.
Ask the professionals about market conditions for your area and price range. A realtor should be able to provide you with comparables of what has sold. You could also get an appraisal from a certified professional appraiser. Remember the bank will use the appraisal process when providing a loan to the buyer. There are times when the seller needed to lower the price of their home or the buyer needed to put more money down to close the deal. Another big factor that we are seeing that we have not seen in the past is a short sale, which means when someone owes more then the home is worth and the bank allows it to sell for under market value. This may have an impact on the value of your home.
You should also look at what percentage point below the asking price the houses in your area have closed for. This will give you an idea of how much your starting price should be. You should also take into consideration location and condition of these homes. I have seen a trend of buyers wanting homes that don’t need much work due to the reason they use most of their liquid cash as a down payment. They are left with little money to fix or do renovations. If your home needs work or updating then the asking price should reflect that.
You may also want to consider strategic pricing. If the prices in your area are dropping 1% a month and you want to sell within 3 months then you may want to list your home by taking 3% of the price right off the bat.
So if you’re going to put your house on the market for $400,000, you need to set the price roughly around $388,000.
The upside: You’ll have the competitive edge over the guy who’s dropping his price every month. Plus, in a market where prices are falling even faster, you’ll make money if you sell quickly.
The downside: It’s tough to predict the market.
Another option that I try to recommend to my clients is that you need to price your property slightly under or right at the current market value. This shows the buyer that you are serious and ready to sell. We have found that by doing this it will sometimes generate multiple offers, some even over asking price.
The lower price points are starting to stabilize, but buyers are being very picky. Even though the interest rates are at a record low homes still need to be priced correctly using the latest sold comparables. The correct price is the key to receiving offers or having your property sit on the market.
Sellers it makes sense to listen to your Realtor, follow the market, review the comparables and get it sold.
Betty Bondi
Bondi Realty Group LLC
203-899-9990