Importance of Correctly Pricing a House for Sale
Deciding to put your house up for sale? I would be more than happy to help you avoid errors common in many for-sale-by-owner situations. If you are a for-sale-by-owner seller, I highly recommend hiring a real estate agent to take on the headache of dealing with paperwork and deadlines. The expertise a real estate agent is able to lend, means you are more likely to sell your house for more money and in less time. Read on for general information on how to price your home for sale and avoid seller mistakes.
When the Price is Not Right
Many home sellers without the guidance of a real estate agent are under the impression that they should try to sell the house at the highest rate they think it’ll go for. The thinking behind this tactic being it can’t hurt to at least try to get the house to sell at a price, and if offers don’t come in, simply lower the price until they do. While in theory, this tactic should work, it is actually of detriment to the sale of the home.
When the asking price is set too high, a house will tend to sit on the market for too long and when a house sits on the market for too long, buyers start thinking it’s a red flag. It is easy to assume the house has issues that merit a price reduction or buyers anticipate another price drop in the future and so they don’t take action. After 90 days your listing has expired and it’s no longer fresh on the market. Attention is highest when it’s first listed and diminishes as time goes on. It’s best not to try and test the market this way and instead avoid the hassles associated with over-pricing by listing the house correctly from the start.
Also a short side note about choosing a real estate agent: don’t choose a real estate agent to sell your home based off of the price they say they’ll list it for. Agents don’t dictate the value of your home, the local housing markets do. Choose a real estate agent to sell your house because they have the marketing resources necessary to get your home seen by the largest pool of buyers possible, not because they tell you they can sell it for an outrageous amount.
Neighborhood Home Value Comparison Reports
A real estate agent has access to all the latest home sales taking place in your area. In a few minutes, I provide you with a neighborhood listing comparison report that will give you a better idea of what your home is worth based on the value of homes around it. From there we must take into consideration the features your house has, that the others don’t or features the other houses have, that yours doesn’t and adjust your asking price accordingly. I will also tell you whether the market is hot, cold or neutral and how that will affect your time line of the sale. Condition, location, amenities and market movement are all major factors in determining the current value of your home. For a free comparable listing analysis on your home, please call me 208-867-2709.
