When we sit down with potential clients to list their home, there are so many issues
and hot buttons to discuss. Inevitably we come to the one where we really have to
agree to get the home sold quickly and for the most money.
P-R-I-C-E
Most homeowners want to start high and then come down - if they have to - to sell.
Of course, they are hoping their home is an exception, it will sell for more than the
market value of all the other homes in the area. We see this over and over again.
If you don't price your home within the price bracket it will eventually sell for, you
are hurting your chances of selling it for top dollar. If you price your home correctly,
You are not giving away money!!
I repeat, YOU ARE NOT GIVING AWAY MONEY.
This phantom money that you think you might get if the one person comes along
who will do anything, pay anything to own your "special" home does not exist.
Let me repeat that -
The uneducated buyer with money falling out of their pockets, sprinkled in fairy dust,
so you can make the money you would like to out of your home sale -----
DOES NOT EXIST!!!
You are not letting go of money, you are letting go of the dream scenario where you
get the price that is 10-15-25-30% over market value. It isn't going to happen.
What will happen, is your home will be posted on the MLS, online, many places where
buyers can look at it. Buyers then compare your price to others, and say, why would
I buy this house?? There are 10-15 others I can look at that are competitively priced
and look great.
Then.... they are gone.
They don't come back and revisit your home as an option. Other homes are new on
the market to consider. Yours has been rejected as: too expensive, too much work,
not what they are looking for.
The charts above illustrate the buyer trends we tell our sellers about. These
charts of buyer activity are on actual listings that are currently listed by us.
You can see that the first month is usually the only month that gets
high traffic.
Some of our sellers will listen, most don't.
Sadly, two, six, eight months later, we are still trying to get them to agree to the price they
should be listed at, if they want their home to sell. Chasing this downward price spiral is not
the best way to get top dollar from your home. When it first hits the market it has the
most exposure and best chance of getting the best price!
Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty
Copyright 2008 All rights reserved
Photos from Flickr Creative Commons photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/2904370326
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chodhound/159462239
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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,
the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in
West Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate
Contact Terry 616-292-7263
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