Pricing Your Home
Pricing your home is both an art and a science. In order to get the most out of your home, objective research into comparable properties and a gut feeling about your property and an understanding of the current market are key. We take many factors into consideration when pricing your home - not just what your neighbors have sold for or what is on the current market.
The right price should:
- Get the attention of potential buyers
- Grant you the best possible sale
- Sell your home as quick as possible
Price determines whether a possible buyer wants to view the house or not. It is important to remember although you set the price of the home - the buyer sets the value. Over pricing your home out of excitement could cost you in the end. Set a reasonable price with reasonable standards to attract serious buyers.
The Importance of Proper Pricing
- Faster Sales and serious inquiries
- Expands listing to wider variety of buyers
- More likely to have a realtor respond
- Attractive Listings on the market generate better sales!
- Means more money to seller
- Avoids being "shopworn"
What is most important is the appeal that your home has compared to other homes on the market.
Common Reasons for Overpricing
- Expensive remodel
- Necessity
- Higher-end areas
- Original Value
- Lack of Background knowledge
- Room to negotiate
- Seller is not in a rush to leave the home
- Market Value of the home
- Emotional attachment
- Opinion of family and friends
Dangers of Overpricing
- Most of the activity on your home will occur in the first few weeks. Pricing a home reasonably will attract buyers fast.
- Buyers looking for a house have usually seen a variety of homes but are looking for their perfect dream home. Finding it at the right price is what matters most.
- Starting at a high price in hopes to lower it in the future cold hurt you because it will cause buyers to lose interest as soon as they see a price.
- Major concern is appraisal problems. Over pricing could cause rejection when applying for loans and end up being a waste of your time.
- Just because your house is nicer than the ones around you doesn’t mean it has to be the most expensive. Over pricing will lose viewings of the property.
- Buyers and agents become aware of the long exposure period and become hesitant to make an offer because they think something could be wrong with the property.
- Over pricing could cause you to encounter the “wrong kind of buyers.”
- Fewer qualified applicants will be interested in the property.
- Pricing your home too high, could cause lesser valued homes to become more popular.
- You could lose money making extra mortgage payments while incurring taxes, insurance and unplanned maintenance costs.
The Role of a Real Estate Agent in Pricing
- Provide you with a comparative market analysis (CMA), a comparison of the prices of recently sold homes that are similar in terms of location, style, and amenities. A CMA is comparing previously sold homes in the area, and currently active homes to view your competition.
- There is no “Set” or “Exact” price in Real Estate
- We don’t tell you what your home Is “worth” we will tell you what it should be priced at.
- The market determines value…together we determine the price.
- You determine the price based on the factors you control:
- Marketing time
- Financing alternatives provided
- Condition
- Exposure method - Keep in touch with market trends and keep up to date with market activity of comparable homes.
- Estimate your net proceeds.
- Help to determine incentive to sell the property
Agents have NO control over the market, only the marketing plan.