Will your home sell quickly because of location? Curb appeal? Updates? Nice view? A great backyard?
No.
What sells a home first and foremost is PRICE.
No matter how beautiful it is, no one wants to pay too much for a home. A buyer is going to look until they find the right home for the right PRICE. Don’t waste time by asking too much for the wrong reasons. Not only will pricing right save you time, it will also save you money. Who wants to pay a mortgage for months while your home is sitting on the market? Why not sell it fast and save yourself time, money, and frustration?
Before you decide on your pricing there are a few things you need to consider. Many sellers have decided on a particular asking price for emotional reasons such as how much money they have put into their home for things such as updates, finishing the basement, adding a swimming pool, and sometimes even general repairs. Unfortunately, according to realtor.com sellers return on investment in 2018 (ROI) was only around 56%. Here are some things you can do to price it right from the start resulting in selling your home quickly without the frustration of waiting for months (or years possibly) for the right buyer to come and overpay for your home.
The first thing that every seller should do is talk to an experienced Realtor who can provide a CMA (Comparative market analysis). Nowadays, we all have access to the internet to gather data and can find out what our neighbor’s home sold for. It is sometimes difficult for sellers to understand how much the differences between the homes can change the value. Each home is unique and a Realtor knows exactly how to adjust the price while taking things into consideration such as lake view, number of bedrooms/baths, finished basement, 2 car garage vs. 3 car, updates and much more. Also, you will be able to see the average days on market which will help you understand how quickly you will be able to sell at the right price.
Have your Realtor provide data on comparable active listings in the area and how long they have been on the market. It’s important when selling anything to look at the competition. If you are looking to sell quickly, it might be worth pricing your home lower than the competition. If you have some time, it might be wise to price it in line with the competition. This information is also something your Realtor can provide and discuss with you to help you determine the right price.
Don’t go by the “Zestimate”. Sure, it’s ok to look at it but don’t rely on those numbers. These are AVM’s (automated valuation models) and they are computer generated based on things like square footage and lot size but they don’t factor updates, location and hundreds of other very important details for pricing. AVM’s can over value or under value your home so it can be used as an approximate estimate only.
According to NAR (National Association of Realtors), recent sellers typically sold their homes for 99% of the listing price, and 23% reported reducing the asking price at least once. Also, NAR reports that the typical home sold was on the market for 3 weeks. Price reductions and homes staying on the market for long periods of time will cause a buyer to wonder what is wrong with it and why it hasn’t sold. Buyer’s typically do their internet search in $25,000 increments (ie. $450,000-$475,000). If you think your home is worth $502,000, you should probably price it at $499,000 otherwise you will miss out on a huge number of potential buyer’s even seeing that your home is on the market.
As you can see, pricing a home can be difficult to gauge accurately, but can make all the difference in selling your home quickly for the best profit. While it’s easy to get bogged down in the details and decisions, hiring an experienced Realtor will make all the difference in this process! I have been a licensed agent since 2004, and accurately pricing your home is one of my specialties! I’m excited to meet with you, discuss your home, and find the price that will make selling your home a quick and easy experience! Call me today!
