Pricing Your Home to Sell

Selling quickly often coincides with selling for the most money. Listings that linger on the market (more than a month or so) are often overpriced. When these listings do sell, it is frequently for less than what they would have initially sold for if properly priced.

Pricing your home is an art not a science.

Achieving the optimal price is the result of both objective research into similar properties and instinct in determining how much a buyer will be willing to pay for your home. The right price will attract showings, which will generate offers.

The unfortunate fact is that price is the number one factor that most home buyers use to determine which homes they want to view.

It's also important to remember that although, you and your Realtor, set the asking price, the selling price is determined by the buyer. Proper pricing is the most crucial factor affecting the time it takes a home to sell. A listing is most marketable when it is fresh on the market. Realtors and their buyers have typically exhausted the other listings in a certain price range and then rush to see the new listings. When a home doesn't sell during the initial marketing effort, the showings drop off as buyers and their agents turn their attention to new listings.

The Correct Price Will:

• Result in a quicker sale, with less inconvenience to the seller
• Expose the property to more buyers
• Increase Realtor response
• Generate more ad calls
• Prevent your listing from getting stale or "shop worn"

  Typically homes that sell more quickly, sell closer to or sometimes over asking price.

  Some Common Reasons for Overpricing

• Over improved property.
• Original purchase price too high
• Desire "negotiating room"

  Overpricing Pitfalls

• Most of the activity on your home will occur in the first few weeks. Properly pricing your home creates immediate urgency in the minds of buyers and agents.
• There is a pool of buyers who have seen most available homes in their price range and are now only waiting for new listings or price reductions. A buyer that has been waiting, may fail to see your home if it is priced too high.
• Sometimes, a price reduction may be too late, as interest by both buyers and Realtors, may have waned.
• Buyers and their agents are very aware of the length of time on the market, the most common buyer question continues to be: "How long has it been on the market?" Often buyers are reluctant to make an offer on a home that has been on the market for "awhile" thinking that there is something wrong with the home.
• Unfortunately, overpriced listings frequently assist the sale of their neighbor's reasonably priced home, making it appear that their home is bargain priced.

  The Role of a Real estate Agent in Pricing

• Provide you with a comparative market analysis, which is a comparison of recent homes with similar amenities that are available, in escrow and sold.
• There is no "exact price"; your home is worth what a buyer is willing to pay.
• The market determines value; together you and your agent determine asking price.

  Also, necessary for a quick sale is an aggressive marketing campaign to properly expose your home to the market. Realtors have no control over the market, only the marketing plan. Never select an agent solely based on their opinion of value. The seller determines the asking price - the buyer determines the selling price.

  Phyllis Harb is a Realtor/Marketing Specialist at RE/MAX Tri-City and is ranked among the top 5% of Realtors nationally. In addition to her S.R.E.S designation, Phyllis is also an approved course instructor for the Department of Real Estate and is licensed to teach continuing education courses to her peers in the Real Estate and Mortgage Banking fields. Harb can be reached @ (818) 790-7325 or realtorharb@earthlink.net