Getting your friends, family, and even your realtor on the same page to correctly price your home, can sometimes feel like a battle. One realtor may have told you to look at similar active homes,
another may have suggested to look at your tax records while another may have suggested to look at sold homes and nothing else. And, like most people, you also have your own opinion of value based from the cost you spent building or all the sweat equity, long weekends, and countless hours thinking about how the landscaping will look when its done. Whose right? And, how do you figure out the best list price for your home?
The truth is…a lot of the statements and ideas above have some validity. With exception to sweat equity – buyers will not pay you back for that, sorry. Buyers will however pay you back with faster and closer to asking prices for the effort.
Truth is, getting the correct asking price or list price of a home right the first time just takes some steps.
- Knowledge of the real estate market
- Knowledge of what buyers really want & expect in homes
- A good look at the condition, amenities and area of the home compared to what buyers want (what buyers want goes along with bullet #2)
- A “little” bit of comparison to active homes – key words “a little bit”
- SOLD PROPERTIES THAT ARE SIMILAR – This was capitalized for a reason, sold properties are king because its been proven a buyer will pay “x” dollars for this style property – sold homes are the number one thing to look at and compare when setting the correct asking price of your home.
The idea of asking high because all buyers will make an offer is truly a mistake – buyers will not make an offer if a home is obviously overpriced compared to other properties and if they do, it’s typically much lower than they would have offered had it been priced “reasonably” to start with. Stage your home right – price it right – market it right – and hire the right agent and your home will sell in any market.
There are “some” cases that a list price may not be “obvious”. This sometimes happens with acreage land, unique homes such as earth homes or the biggest house in the neighborhood. In these cases do your best by looking at the “best” comparables to start and adjust as needed. If the property is not getting any activity once listed that’s a sign price is to high. If you’re getting a lot of showings but no offers, also a sign price is to high.
Derrick