Pricing Your Home to Sell in Any Market
Okay, so you’re thinking about selling your home. Now what?
Most sellers in today’s challenging market are a bit nervous about the prospect. Possibly taking a loss on a current home may feel like too much to bear. But with a strategic sales plan, combined with a savvy purchase, sellers can recapture the maximum value overall.
Your Strategic Sales Plan
Consult with an expert. A local Realtor® should consult you on pricing your home competitively, as well as staging options that will give your home a competitive advantage. Why? Although getting a home sold involves three factors – location, price, and condition – only price and condition are under your control. Therefore, focusing on setting the Price accurately will start you on the right track. A good rule of thumb is that price will correct bad condition, but condition will never overcome a bad price.
Act fast. You’re in a race against time – the best price you’ll get in today’s market is the one you get now. In my experience, if you over-price your home to offer “negotiating room” it will only hurt you in the end. Each month you will be faced with lowering your home’s sale price because new homes will come on the market priced to sell, while your home will look stale. In the end, your home will sell for less than it would have had you priced it accurately in the beginning. Keller Williams research shows that sellers who listed their home at the price the agent originally recommended, sold the home 38 days faster.
Breathe. Don’t worry about where the market has been, keep your focus on where it is going. By working with the factors you can control, as well as consulting a local Realtor®, you can ensure that you have the most relevant market data to help you get your home sold now!
Buying Expertly
Whether your goal is to buy bigger or smaller, in a new town or just down the street, selling now could turn out to be the best time to move yourself into the home of your dreams. Falling home prices are a great opportunity for a savvy homeowner to find that “just right” home. Even though your house price may be lower, the smaller loss at sale can be made up by greater savings at purchase. For example, let’s take a $200,000 home and imagine that it has decreased in value by 5%, reducing the sales price to $190,000. At the same time, let’s imagine that you would like to purchase a $300,000 home you have been wishing for has also decreased by 5 percent (often more). That’s a savings of $15,000, or a net gain of $5,000. Plus, the new home is likely to be better positioned for appreciation when the market rebounds.
Bottom line. Don’t fight against the market. Instead, work with it to get the most out of your house sale.