The Strategic Importance of Pricing Right
In preparing to sell your home, if you want a quick and easy sale you have to set the right price point. The higher your price, the longer it will take you to sell. This can be really a problem if you have fallen in love with your next home, with the pressure to come up with the money to make the commitment on the new place. Even without that kind of pressure, though, sitting on the market for an excruciatingly long time -- or not making the sale at all -- is something you do not want to experience.
Approach the Problem Systematically
To be successful, the thing to keep in mind as a starting point is to be the best buy in the area. If you use a Realtor, he or she will be able to do a professional, systematic market analysis so you can see the price structure of the market. Setting the right price point is something a Realtor can bring to the process to get it started toward success.
Quick Sale Versus (Maybe...) More Money
If you are buying an item to use in your home, you would not likely spend months deciding between an item that you could buy nearby and one that might cost less but you had to spend a lot of time and energy researching and making complicated arrangements to obtain. Your own time has a value as does the money you have to keep investing in your house while it is in the process of being sold. If you look at it with this in mind, you can start to see the problem with a different perspective. Another danger, if you are in a slow time in the market is that if you have to reduce your price after a time of inactivity it gives buyers the idea that you might be getting desperate or at least anxious; they may well respond more than you would prefer to any signal that you are in an unfavorable position.
Consider the Timing Too
If, after considering your options on going for the highest possible price you still have that goal in mind, you may have to wait until you can achieve the higher target; in other words, you have to pay attention the market. Now might not be the time to sell, so you will yield on the "Sell it quickly" theme -- but even so, when the market shifts, you may have to act quickly. That situation could be especially hard to deal with; although you may be able to stay with family or friends a time if you are pushed into a sale of your home before you get another one, more likely you would have to move into a short-term rental situation which could start taking away from the profit you might have made from your timing. This is not the usual situation but if it does you may be successful in getting the buyers to stay where they are longer. Most of the time, though, once they know their mortgage has been approved they will be anxious to close pretty quickly.
Remember If You Really Want to Sell It Quickly, Setting Your Price Is Not the Only Factor
Another thing that sellers sometimes inadequately take into consideration when pricing their house is whether their home is in the same condition as other homes that sold for a top price. If you have not kept your home in excellent shape, you won't be able to sell it at the same favorable price as similar homes. Even if this is the case, though, you can sell it even in a less than optimum condition by setting a price low enough to cover a modest list of needed fixes. Work of a serious nature such as cracks in the ceiling or walls, a leaky roof, and heating and cooling systems may not be handled this way, although you can get away with it for things that affect the attractiveness of the home. Things like replacing old bathroom fixtures, refinishing wood floors and similar tasks can be avoided by reducing your price for the home. The fact is, some people like the idea of buying a home they need to fix so they can tailor it to their needs. Remember, considering both the cost of spinning your wheels and the house sitting untouched on the market, both in terms of foregone monetary opportunity and time, as well as the gradual loss of your home's advantage in being fresh and new in the listings, the really smart move is to price it right in the first place and sell it quickly.
This article was provided by Automated Homefinder, yourDenver real estate specialists of Colorado.
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Linda Zimmerman, GRI, e-PRO, SRES |
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