Pricing Your Home

Pricing your home right is the single biggest factor in how quickly your home will sell, and price is the number one factor that most home buyers use to determine which homes to view.

Your real estate agent will review your home and then compare it to recently sold homes that are similar in stats and location.

Today, there is a pool of buyers waiting for your home to hit the market. When it does, that group of buyers who are searching will find your house, and decide if it looks like it is worth seeing. In the first few weeks some of the buyers in this group will come for showings.. They will consider how your home compares to the other houses on the market on features vs price. If you home does not show and compete well enough in the first 5 weeks to generate an offer, you will be forced to wait as the trickle of new buyers comes into the market. 80% of potential buyers will see your house in the first five weeks, if you don’t sell them then, it takes approximately three months to replace them with an equal number of newcomers.

The biggest mistake that sellers make is to lower their property price too little, too late. Many people feel they will start with a high price, and then lower it if they don’t get an offer. The problem is that most prospects won’t even look at your home if it is priced out of their range or if it doesn’t compare well to the other homes in their price range, even if you know you would actually accept less. The majority of buyers will take the path of least resistance and look at homes that are close to their actual price range, rather than hoping to negotiate a higher priced home down.

What Affects Your Asking Price?

Urgency

How quickly must you sell?

Competition

Are there just a few or many homes available in your price category and area?

Available Financing

What are the current home loan interest rates and is your home eligible for ‘normal’ mortgage products?

Recently Sold Homes

What has happened to home sales for similar homes, in your area, in the last 6 months?

Expenses

What are your selling costs?

What Doesn’t Affect Your Asking Price?

Original Cost

Buyers aren’t interested in what you paid for the home, only what they will pay.

Investment in Improvements

Potential buyers may consider the costs to remove or replace items when making their offer.

Personal Attachment

Loving your home does not change how others feel about it; they will judge it based on their own needs.

Your Neighbor’s Opinion

Buyer’s don’t care what the neighbors think, they will rely on their own research. Other homes in your neighborhood may not be as similar as you think. Ask your agent for a Comparative Market Analysis of what similar homes sold for.

What Happens To an Overpriced Home?

You’ll Sell the Competition

The “correctly priced” homes look even better if yours is overpriced. Buyers are competitive shoppers.

A Negative Impression is Created

People will wonder why your house is still on the market – they’ll believe something is wrong with your home if it hasn’t sold in a long period of time.

You’ll Lose Money

You may have to make extra mortgage payments as well as incur taxes, insurance and unplanned maintenance costs.

You May Have to Accept Less Money

The longer a house is on the market, the greater the discount off the list price. Often a seller will accept less than fair market value in order to sell because of an approaching deadline.

Your Home May Not Appraise For the Sale Price

Even if you find a buyer to pay your price, it doesn’t mean their bank will agree. If the appraisal determines that your home is worth less than the agreed to price your deal may go bust.

The Bottom Line: The best strategy is to price it right from the start!

Pricing correctly from the beginning gives you the best leverage by attracting more buyers who know your home is priced right, and will want to act quickly to not miss the opportunity to buy.

Hiring a Listing Agent
Marketing & Showing