September 28, 2019
When a home owner makes the decision to put their property up for sale, almost immediately certain thought patterns come into play. Some of these patterns of thought are actually detrimental to a successful sale and should be avoided!
Harmful Thought Pattern #1 – An offer to purchase was put forth on the first day, so I should turn it down and increase my asking price because I obviously underpriced
Harmful Thought Pattern #2 – Inventory is low, but my first offer came so fast for less than full price so I should pass on it and WAIT because I will certainly receive multiple offers and all of them higher
Harmful Thought Pattern #3 – I should price my house higher than market value dictates so there’s room for the buyer to offer less and I’ll have more negotiating room; in this way I will get more money for my house.
Each of these is more about fear than good marketing technique, and only a novice real estate agent would agree to such practices! Successful thought patterns will lead to a successful sale, at the best price and for the best terms based on your needs.
The facts tells us that the fear of pricing too low leads many to actually end up selling for less than they might have received by pricing correctly right at the start. Unless an offer is really off the charts ridiculous, it should always be given serious consideration.
A fear of accepting the first offer may cause a home to actually linger, forgotten, on the market when it could have sold quickly. The longer a home sits on the market, the perception of most people is to wonder “what’s wrong with this house?” often leading them to skip adding it to their “To See” list.
That truth is that pricing a home at right from the beginning is your absolute best opportunity to sell the home at market value in the shortest time frame. Pricing correctly most likely attracts just the right buyer who will most likely make a reasonable offer to purchase. Often, even if there are elements of it that aren’t completely acceptable, a counter offer will get you the prize you really want – the sale of your home.
Even if a buyer walked into your home and fell head over heels for it, unless they plan to pony up cash without even bothering with an appraisal, you aren’t going to walk away with more than market value because the appraisal won’t come in higher than the comparable sales dictate it should.
Pricing right, gives you the negotiating power needed to ask for the full market value and negotiate for attractive terms as well.
While pricing a home isn’t an exact science, it is a combination of knowledge of the local selling area, skill at marketing, timing, current buyer trends, and competition – in short, a combo of art plus science.
A home priced right according to the dictates of the current market place should see a good flurry of active showings in the first several weeks, with a solid offer being made within the average sale time of your marketplace.
Make sure you see showings and offers! Talk with a local marketing specialist who can help you look closely at comparison properties for your best list price.
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