The biggest mistake I see people making in a seller's market is pricing their home by comparing it to other homes for sale in their neighborhood. Keep in mind, those homes HAVE NOT SOLD YET. The price you see is what they are asking a buyer to pay, but if the price was a fair price, those homes wouldn't last more than a week on the market! So, if you see your neighbors home listed for 30, 60, or more days, you can bet your bottom dollar it is priced too high! You have to price your home by comparing it to homes that have already SOLD. And, just because a 2/2 condo in this community sold for $225,000 that doesn't mean that a 2/2 condo in another community will sell for the same price. It's not always easy coming up with a sale price, so be sure to hire a Realtor to help you! And, by all means, avoid getting in that trap where everyone thinks there's something wrong with your home because it has sat on the market too long! At that point, all you'll get are low ball offers anyway, so pricing a home correctly is EXTREMELY important! And, as with what happened to me recently, my sellers thought I was asking too much for their home...they had considered selling their home "For Sale By Owner". I told them that the comps in their neighborhood suggested a higher price, which they loved! We listed in on a Thursday, it had eight showings by Saturday morning and four offers by the end of that day! How did I do that? I made some suggestions for easy fixes that would help improve the appearance of their home, I lightly staged their home, we decluttered every room by putting everything away for photos, hired a professional photographer, and PRICED IT AT A FAIR PRICE! End of story! SOLD!!
In Pinellas County, inventory is very low right now! There are so many buyers looking for a home to buy, but only a hand full of homes are listed each day, so if the home is priced right, it will sell immediately! The reason is because (here I go, sounding like a broken record!) BUYERS ARE SMART!!! They are watching and waiting...they are setting up profiles and getting automatic emails when a home pops up in your neighborhood...they have seen every home that has sold in the past six months and know what homes should be selling for...and if they like a new home that pops up and it's priced where it should be, it will be SOLD!! If someone lists their home too high because they want to 'see what they can get' for it, it'll sit there until people think something is wrong with it!
Another topic I want to discuss is why your home won't sell. You thought you did all the right things...you interviewed three Realtors, they all gave you an idea of what to list your home for, you chose the one that gave you the highest price, but did you ask them what they would do to sell you home?
The highest price a Realtor is willing to sell your home for isn't always the right price! Of course we all want as much as possible for our home, but how is that Realtor going to get that price for you? First, if they aren't hiring a professional photographer, they have already let you down! Don't settle on poor photographs! Be sure to insist on a professional! And, if that Realtor is charging you for it, you chose the wrong Realtor! What do you think you are paying a commission for? Second, is your Realtor making suggestions that will make your home more appealing to buyers? Is your Realtor doing any light staging? Are they sending you your listing immediately after it goes on the market for you to review for errors? Are they communicating with you and giving you feedback? Honest...brutally honest...feedback? Or are they just sugar coating everything because they don't want to hurt your feelings? Remember, the point of listing your home is to sell it! This is when you need to put on your business hat and take off that homeowner hat...put your feelings aside, and get that home SOLD!!
TIP: Be sure to compare each Realtor's marketing strategy! It's not enough to put a property on the market and pray it sells! You are paying someone to do a job, so insist they work for that commission!
“The opinions expressed on this blog are my personal opinions, and they don’t reflect those of my company.”
v
Comments