Importance of Pricing your home correctly from the Start
When a home first come on the market, is when agents and buyers are most enthusiastic to find out what the home has to offer. Therefore, it is very important to price the home correctly. A home that is priced at market value or below will receive multiple showings and hopefully several offers. In a buyer’s market, a home that is over-priced will sit until a price reduction takes place. (Buyers’ market is more than six months of inventory based on closed sales. Sellers’ market is less than three months of inventory based on closed sales.) In a seller’s market, when inventory is low, properties may be priced over market and sold at a higher value, However, other condition and factors may apply.)
A home that has been sitting on the market for an extended period of time raises a red flag. What is an extended period of time? Let’s say that the average days on market in a particular subdivision is 30 days. If the home that is for sale has been on the market for 90 days, that raises the red flag “Why has it been sitting on the market so long?” “What is the problem?” When the home has been on the market longer than the average days on market, buyers see this as an opportunity to make a lower offer.
There real estate market has a rhythm all its own and it is very important that Sellers know the nuances of the local market. Real Estate pricing is very local. It’s also important that the Seller realizes that negotiating is not just about price, it is also about terms.
Usually as a home lingers on the market more properties enter the market and now there are many properties for buyers to choose from, all wanting a good deal. This is where the old adage “Your first offer is your best offer” comes into play. There is a strong argument for the basic principal of: Take the first goodoffer and work with it!
Janice Zaltman