Energy-Pricing Your House For Sale

You know, there is a lot of talk going on in today’s market about what will move one house vs. another, but one thing for sure is that if the house is priced right, it will sell. There is a saying in real estate like that which has been around forever. Unfortunately, homeowners and many others have interpreted those words to mean that the home has to be given away. Nothing could be farther from the truth. What homeowner is going to recommend a real estate agent to one of their friends if they have just “given their house away”? Why would a homeowner even want an agent like that? The agent’s goal should be to help the homeowner get the best possible deal, and they should be able to show the homeowner a strategy for how that goal could be accomplished.

In many markets in Tampa Bay, there are still very large inventories of homes for sale on the market. Often, only a small percentage of those homes are being sold each month. Generally, the longer a home sits on the market, the more ominous the signs become for the seller. The best time to measure the interest in your home is during the first two weeks it is on the market. The highest price your home will sell for in a declining market is usually within the first three months, and generally the best time to sell is the first month.

During the first two weeks your home is on the market, serious buyers will have seen your house advertised in the local Realtors’ MLS, they will have grouped it with similar ads that have peaked their interest and will have discussed it with their realtor. (Why do buyers use realtors? Because their services are often free to the buyer. They are usually paid their commission at closing as a percentage of proceeds from the sale of the house). If your house is previewed by the buyers’ agent or the buyers themselves, it is usually during this time. Therefore, the house needs to be priced to sell (unless of course you really don’t want to sell it, in which case, you can take it off the market and save everyone the trouble of trying to sell a house which you are not ready to sell yet). If you play with the pricing of the house from the time it is rolled out onto the market, it could very well be a move you might regret later. So price the house as fairly as you can determine from the start.

In a depreciating market, the comparison of your house to a similar house sold in today’s market, is a technique used to help come up with an initial list price on your house, (which will be sold in tomorrow’s market). Remember, the price you start with needs to be arrived at with the intention of arousing excitement in buyers, and causing multiple offers to be made. When multiple offers are made, the final selling price can end up being even higher than your original listed price. But multiple offers will not occur without doing your homework and pricing the house fairly and smartly from the start.

If you miss the mark during the first month on market, things can become more difficult. But don’t give up, and don’t put a list price on your house “just because”. Remember, you want to attract multiple offers during the early days on market. With the proper approach, good research in your market area, and trustworthy guidance, you can sell your home in a depreciating market. Your sale is not guaranteed, but when approached from the proper perspective, using a strategic plan whose foundation is based upon proven results, your home can be one that sells in the first days on market – even in a depreciating market.