Health & Fitness
Pricing to Sell: Value Still the Key Even in Boom-Time Real Estate Market
There’s no doubt that the local real estate market is vibrant once again. According to the Boston Globe, home sales in Massachusetts and the Greater Boston area are back to boom-time levels, with July showing the best results since 2006.
Odds are – you’ve heard, or seen first-hand – stories from your friends and neighbors who had multiple offers on their homes this summer, or had to battle other buyers for a shot at getting their best offer accepted by a seller come crunch time. That’s been the norm, for the most part.
However, the market upswing doesn't mean homeowners have free reign when it comes to pricing their homes. It may seem counter-intuitive, but one of the costliest mistakes you can make as a seller is to settle on a price tag for your home that's significantly higher than the market will bear. In good economic times or bad, value is always the key.
Find out what's happening in Westonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The uncertainty of the past few years has made it challenging for many who've wanted to make a move -- but had to wait for the market to improve to put their homes up for sale, or risk losing money. Now, those same sellers want to make top-dollar for their homes, and who can blame them? However, over-pricing their homes can have opposite the intended effect – and those same anxious homeowners could be left behind when the competition is perceived as a better value. Here's are some tips for marketing your home effectively so that it moves fast, and gets the highest selling price in the process:
Find out what's happening in Westonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Even with time on your side, don’t go for a higher price than your home is worth. Many sellers want to “see how it plays out,” but run the risk of shrinking the potential buyer pool, and possibly removing themselves from consideration altogether. There’s a direct correlation to days on market and selling price; the longer a house sits on the market, the lower the sale. The same rules apply in a bull market. If your house isn’t being offered in the target price range after testing the market, don’t resist an adjustment to your asking price. If you do, you risk brokers using the example of your house to sell another one.
Negotiate, but don’t over-reach. As a sale comes to a close, both the buyer and seller want to feel they’ve received a fair deal. By all means, negotiate -- but don’t get too aggressive once you have an interested buyer or you might lose the sale. If you price your home fairly from the start, you might get multiple offers, and when that happens – you’ll have the upper hand in this deal. The negotiating skills of your broker are paramount in both a buyer’s market and a seller’s market.Market your property online and check your competition. Take a look at online listings in your area before you ever list it, so you have a feel for pricing. Visit open houses to better understand the competition. Look at what’s moving and what’s not and be sure that your property has a visible, searchable online presence and that you’ve highlighted key selling features. Buyers search by price categories. Don’t position your home in the wrong price category or you’ll eliminate or reduce the buyer exposure for your residence.
Be realistic. You can’t price your house based upon what you want; you need to settle on a price the market will support. Whether you’ve just invested $50,000 in a brand new kitchen, or your neighbor bought at the height of the market a few years back – you can’t always expect to recoup that value in your listing price.
Compare your house with homes that have successfully sold, and in short order. Don’t cross reference it with inventory that hasn’t sold. Understand absorption rates, the available inventory competing in your price range as compared to the number of houses that have sold in that price range. A well-informed broker can help you understand that equation.
Studies have shown that the first two weeks a home is listed is the most critical to moving the property. Supply and demand impact both the asking and selling price, so price your home right from the start. The bottom line: buyers in any market are motivated by value. Price, price, price to sell!
Amy Mizner is a principal at the real estate firm of Benoit Mizner Simon & Co. (BMS). Mizner and her partner Sheryl Simon have been the top-selling team in Weston for more than a decade. At BMS, which has offices in Weston and Wellesley, Mizner and her team work to provide a fresh approach, and a highly professional experience for all clients.
