Saturday, April 18, 2009

Want To Sell? Don't Overprice Your Home!

Overpriced homes do not sell! Don't make the mistake of overpricing your home when you list it. Your home will sit on the market and you will end up making less money from the sale because of the carrying costs you will incur. Look at the true market value of your home instead of letting emotion take over. If you price your home right, you will sell it quickly and come out on top!

If you really want to sell your home take these points into serious consideration before deciding on a price:

*A CMA (comparative market analysis) prepared by a realtor is a great starting place to get a close estimate of the market value of your home. A CMA uses homes currently on the market and recently sold homes in your area.

*The first 3 weeks your home is on the market are the most crucial. Experience has shown that most of the calls and activity occur during this time. When an inquiry is made, your home will be marked off the list if the buyer and/or agent thinks it is overpriced.

*Realtors form very strong opinions about homes they believe are overpriced. They do not want to lose credibility with their clients, so they will give their honest opinion about the price of your home. Most of the time realtors will not even show homes that are overpriced.

*Most sellers have the idea that they have to plan for "negotiating room." It is okay to leave a little room, but when you tack on a lot of extra when pricing your home, it may exclude buyers who are trying to stay within a certain price range. Most people have a certain amount they have been pre-qualified for and they will not look at homes that exceed their approved amount.

*A seller has the right to price their home at any amount they want, but the home is required to appraise for the contract price. If it doesn't appraise then the buyer will have to come up with extra cash and most of the time they don't have it. This will cause you to lose a sell.

*A good realtor will do whatever possible to market your home and bring in buyers. If your home is overpriced, your realtor will waste a lot of time and money advertising your home.

*When your home sits on the market for months it begins to come under question. People will ask, "What is wrong with this home and why has it been sitting on the market for such a long time?" Remember, your goal is to sell the home in the shortest amount of time possible.

*You cannot decide on a price for your home by calculating what you paid for your home, adding all the extras you have put into the home, and adding the commission you will have to pay. You must price your home by looking at the market value.

If your home has been sitting on the market for a long time, you have to ask yourself the question, "Why has my home not sold?" If it is clean, well staged, and in a good location, then it is most likely overpriced. If you really want to sell your home, price it to sell!

1 comment:

Sam said...

Great insight. Thanks for sharing the tips!