One of the worst home selling mistakes is pricing your home too high!
The truth is, it really doesn’t matter how much money you think your home is worth, how much you need, what your neighbor says, or what your parents say…etc. Truly the only person whose opinion matters is the buyer who makes an offer. Pricing homes is part art and part science. In an attempt to come up with a range value, your agent takes the following into consideration: comparing similar properties, making adjustments for the differences among them, tracking market trends and taking stock of present inventory. Listing agents use all of the facts to formulate an educated estimation. Unfortunately, uninformed sellers often choose the listing agent who suggests the highest list price, which is the worst mistake a seller can make.
The method an experienced listing agent uses is the same method an appraiser will use to evaluate a home. No two appraisals are ever exactly the same; however, they are generally close to each other. In other words, there is no hard and fast price tag to place on your home. The market will dictate the price. And, the market is ever-changing as we have experienced in the past two years.
Actually, homes sell at a price a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept. Bear in mind, it must appraise for sales price if the buyer is taking out a loan to purchase.
There is a clear danger in pricing too high and the risk generally doesn’t generate the reward. Here is an example: Seller wants to list home at $500,000 despite the listing agent’s suggestion of $425,000. Six months later the home has not sold. So the seller relists and reduces list price to $475,000. An offer comes in for $450,000, but is rejected because the seller wants $475,000. Three months later, another offer comes in at $425,000. By this time the Seller truly wants to sell, so he accepts the offer, which is the original price the Listing agent suggested. So after 9 months on the market, how much has the seller lost due to pricing their home too high in the beginning?
If the seller’s payments were $2,500 per month, after 9 months it equals $22,500. If Seller had taken the first offer he would have been ahead plus would not have had to make those payments. Sometime, Sellers must do the math. Furthermore, the first offer is typically the best offer, which has been proven the time and time again.
