Many people in real estate will tell you that the most important factor in whether your home sells or not is price. I don™t entirely agree, because from my experience maximizing a home™s exposure in the marketplace, and also properly showcasing its unique features and beauty go a long way to creating the emotion in buyers that will make them want to buy “ and even pay a premium.
That said, pricing your property when you put it on the market is a balancing act. On the one hand, you want to set a listing price that maximizes interest among qualified, motivated buyers who™ll be willing to pay top dollar. Indeed, such buyers will ultimately determine your property™s top market value. On the other hand, you do not want to set a listing price that attracts a lot of buyer prospects, but sets the stage for negotiations that result in your getting less than what your property is really worth.
So what is your home™s actual market value?
In a perfect world, your home™s value would be everything you think and need it to be. However, simply put, your home™s value is not determined by you, but by what the market is willing to pay for it at a given time. These days, the œmarket increasingly refers to home buyers who have researched property values over the Internet for months, have already viewed a number of homes, and are not under any undue pressure to buy.
On average, serious buyers look at about fifteen properties before they make an offer. Doing so gives them a basis for determining how competitively a property is priced, both in terms of the market generally and what they are looking for specifically.
All this is why it™s crucial that you do not overprice your property, even if the strategy of doing so “ knowing that you can reduce the price later “ might make sense at first glance. In fact, sellers who overprice their properties “ even just 10% above market value “ often end up getting less than they would if they™d priced it properly from the start. Here™s why:
A high price on your property makes other comparable properties more attractive, so you actually help to sell your competition · Fewer buyers will respond to ads, fewer agents will show your property to their buyer clients, and you™ll get fewer serious offers · Inflated prices often lead to mortgage rejections and critical lost time waiting for finance approvals that don™t go through · Reducing the price after buyers have begun to perceive your home as a œstale listing will not generate nearly as much interest as if you™d priced it properly from the start
From my years in the business, I™ve found that the bottom line is that realistically pricing your home right from the outset is the best strategy for getting top market value for it, because you™ll get more showings, as well as generate more interest and enthusiasm among buyers and their agents. After all, if you get multiple offers you can always raise the price!
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