- ‘Buying the Listing’ – Skewing the Truth to Get a Listing
Be cautious of the agent who guarantees you a sales price or suggests the highest price without providing serious, relevant numbers to support it. Relevancy is key. Look for sales that are closest to your home and work out from there. Look for a careful consideration of ALL the factors and an understanding of how both an appraiser and a buyer will ‘weigh’ each item of value.
- Look for a Price Range and Understand how it Works
Every house falls within a range of possible pricing, that will fluctuate based on the time its on the market and comparable properties while it is listed.
Pricing at the low-end will generate a lot more activity, possibly generating multiple offers and putting you, the Seller, in the best possible position.
Pricing on the high-end will deter buyers and usually results in the house sitting and going ‘stale’ until the Seller is forced to do a price drop. These homes are frankly ignored until someone comes along looking for a ‘deal’. Expect that any offers coming in after the initial peak of interest will be significantly lower.
- Pricing is an art.
The best time for an offer is within the first 5 days on market*. If the home is priced right and your Realtor does adequate marketing, you’ll get an offer right away. Price it too high and Buyers will shun your home. High-end pricing almost ALWAYS results in a much lower net than Low-end pricing due to the perception of demand and the position of negotiating power for a Seller facing multiple offers.
*Normal ‘Days on Market’ DOM is 30 days in a ‘stable’ market where inventory is even, which is rarely the case. Low inventory yields lower DOM, higher inventory/lower demand yields higher DOM.