When selling a home, attractive pricing and packaging are the two basic essentials. In the present real estate market, buyers have choices even with a small shortage of inventory. Experts say no two homes are the same, and making that distinction between your home to others is key. In pricing a home, you should combine an objective assessment of your property with a practical evaluation of market conditions. In a good and bad market, you will probably benefit by determining a reasonable value and sticking closer to it than you are by asking unrealistic amounts and waiting for buyer reaction to filter out the right price. In a buyer’s market, the only effective strategy is setting the right home price from the start. If you decide to work with a real estate agent, they usually begin by conducting a (CMA) Comparative Market Analysis of a home and giving you an estimate of the market value of your home which depends on the housing market in your area. When you know your home’s approximate value and have a price range in mind, it is time to set your home price. In pricing a home, several factors are important:
Don’t overprice or you’ll scare away prospective buyers:
What sellers don’t realize is that overpricing can bring about their getting less for their home than if they have priced it right from the start because knowledgeable agents and buyers often won’t offer on a seriously overpriced home. When the seller wises up, large portions of his best prospects will have purchased other homes, decreasing demand for the now reasonably priced property. Overpriced homes can end up being sold for less than what they would have a couple of months earlier. Some say overpricing sometimes works to the seller’s advantage, but be careful; it might cost you more in the end. There may be some factors that prompt the seller to set a high asking price:
- Made some home improvement.
- Originally bought the home for an overpriced amount.
- Don’t have enough knowledge of factual comparable sales.
- Want some bargaining & negotiating room.
However, if you are in a neutral real estate market, you need to be more careful in pricing a home.
Know the Comparables:
Whether you are working with a real estate agent or not, know the offering and selling prices of similar properties. Shop your competition and find out how long each property took to sell. Be practical with comparables, use homes that have sold that are close in Age, Style and Size, Condition, and Location. Try to discover at least three comparables not more than six months past their sale date when looking at closed sales. You can do some of this research personally on your local agents’ listings and sites. Your agent should also be presenting you with this kind of market research. They can also sometimes find out what concessions (closing costs) the sellers gave their buyers. Pricing a home is not a simple system. A lot of elements can become a factor when selling or buying a home, and not every one of them can be anticipated. If the homeowner can be flexible and respond quickly to changing market conditions, they will probably get the best price with the least amount of aggravation.