Friday, April 10, 2009
For those that are looking to sell their property this year, the #1 priority should be pricing it correctly. We have experienced a market shift and now find ourselves amongst a buyer’s market. It boils down to the fact that the current supply of property for sale has outstripped the current demand. Sales are picking up, but the properties we see making it to the closing table are priced for the current market conditions and market value.
Studies show that you have the best opportunity to sell your property within the first 7 weeks of activating your listing. That means that you need to prepare for attracting buyers from Day 1 and can’t risk participating in a lengthy pricing game. You know the one I’m referring to. The old “I’ll start my pricing at X but would accept an offer of Y.”
Simply put, as a seller in today’s market, you just don’t have the luxury of multiple buyers looking to negotiate with you. An asking price set too high from the start will only result in poor showing activity and reluctance for buyers to even view your home. As we’ve echoed many times before, buyers are currently in the driver’s seat and looking for deals. The properties the Boyd Team has sold in the last 3 months have all happened because of a pricing strategy that lures prospective buyers looking for good overall value in their purchase.
Over-pricing your property from the start will limit the overall demand and interest you generate. The consensus is that the longer your home sits on the market the less you will ultimately net from the sale. Meaning once again that a competitive pricing strategy needs to be employed when you are ready to list your property for sale. A few tidbits to remember are:
Overpricing Your Property Will:
– Limit the number of prospects you capture
– Lower the overall number of showings
– Limit qualified buyer interest
– Minimize the offers you generate
– Lower area agent response to your property
– Limit financing options for prospective buyers
– Waste marketing efforts & advertising dollars
