Pricing Your Home to Sell (Conclusion)
July 23, 2007
After your real estate agent (or several real estate agents) have done a market analysis for you, it is the moment of truth when a listing price must be selected.
As a seller you have had a price in mind based on your costs and your future needs. The real estate agents helped you examine the data for similar properties currently on the market and recently sold. Next comes the negotiations between you, the seller, and the real estate agent you have selected.
As you hopefully learned from my previous posts, setting a price to offer your property for sale is not a science. In the 1990s when the market was also slow, a book was written suggesting that a listing price 10% under the market analysis would generate multiple offers and the seller would end up selling at the market analysis price (or more). I found very few sellers willing to try that particular strategy.
Since in the first half of 2007, 12% of houses sold sold above list, 27% sold at list and 63% sold under list with 70% of that 63% selling within 5% of the listing price, it illustrates to me that to obtain a buyer, a seller needs to look very carefully at the market data.
How do you know that the price is right? When exposed to the market place, a home priced correctly will have a significant number of showings. If there are many showings and no offers, it indicates that it may be priced too high. If there are few showings, it is also an indication that buyers feel that it is too pricey.
Like the rocket to Mars, it may take adjustments to arrive at a sale. Even in a slow real estate market, there are still buyers that are ready, willing and able to purchase a home. However, buyers who are serious about making a purchase are discriminating about what a property has to offer. The secret is to select your list price based on comparable data and be willing to make adjustments as may be necessary to acheive your goal - a closed sale.
After your real estate agent (or several real estate agents) have done a market analysis for you, it is the moment of truth when a listing price must be selected.
As a seller you have had a price in mind based on your costs and your future needs. The real estate agents helped you examine the data for similar properties currently on the market and recently sold. Next comes the negotiations between you, the seller, and the real estate agent you have selected.
As you hopefully learned from my previous posts, setting a price to offer your property for sale is not a science. In the 1990s when the market was also slow, a book was written suggesting that a listing price 10% under the market analysis would generate multiple offers and the seller would end up selling at the market analysis price (or more). I found very few sellers willing to try that particular strategy.
Since in the first half of 2007, 12% of houses sold sold above list, 27% sold at list and 63% sold under list with 70% of that 63% selling within 5% of the listing price, it illustrates to me that to obtain a buyer, a seller needs to look very carefully at the market data.
How do you know that the price is right? When exposed to the market place, a home priced correctly will have a significant number of showings. If there are many showings and no offers, it indicates that it may be priced too high. If there are few showings, it is also an indication that buyers feel that it is too pricey.
Like the rocket to Mars, it may take adjustments to arrive at a sale. Even in a slow real estate market, there are still buyers that are ready, willing and able to purchase a home. However, buyers who are serious about making a purchase are discriminating about what a property has to offer. The secret is to select your list price based on comparable data and be willing to make adjustments as may be necessary to acheive your goal - a closed sale.
posted by shirley harry at 8:16 AM
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