|
Overpricing and waiting too long for reductions
You’ve contacted me to list your home and I give you a price range
based on condition, location, and prices of comparable homes in your
neighborhood that have recently sold. You’re not in a rush, so why
not list your house at the high end, or even more?
Your rationale may be:
1) it only takes one buyer who is willing to pay more
2) your house really is nicer than those “comps” probably were
3) if someone really wants your house, they’ll be willing to pay a
little more to get it. And of course, you can always lower the price
at some point.
Well, there are many reasons why you are at risk with this strategy.
Buyers are doing lots of looking and comparison-shopping these days,
and quickly gain the ability to gauge a house’s market value.
Remember, they are not looking at your home in a vacuum. Pricing
your house too high only helps your competition sell. The longer
your house is on the market, even if you do start reducing the
price, buyers view it as “stale” and wonder why no one else wanted
it. Even the best marketing strategies won’t sell a house that is
priced unrealistically high.
Mistaking Re-Finance Appraisals for the Market Value
Unfortunately, a re-finance appraisal may have been stated at an
untruthfully high price. Often, lenders estimate the value of your
property to be higher than it actually is in order to encourage
re-financing. The market value of your home could actually be lower.
Your best bet is to ask me for the most recent information regarding
property sales in your community. This will give you an up-to-date
and factually accurate estimate of your property value.
Basing Asking Price on needs or emotion not market value
Many sellers base their pricing on how much they paid for their
home. If your home is not priced competitively, homebuyers will
prefer larger or better homes in the same price range, increasing
your time-to-sell. When your price is later lowered, buyers may be
wary because they suspect other reasons the house has remained
unsold so long.
Trying to pick the ideal time to market your home
Everybody's an expert at the water cooler, and there is always a lot
of talk about which months are the liveliest ones for getting our
listings sold. Many people think the ideal time to put a house on
the market is when the flowers are in bloom and the grass is the
greenest. In many parts of the country, the "spring market" is
thought of as the real estate industry's hottest season.
There are many more important factors that strongly influence the
sale of houses in the Sudbury area than the calendar. Interest
rates, the availability of local employment, tax rates, and the
overall economic health of the community all play a large part in
determining how quickly homes move and how well the sellers will do
at the closing table. Your home may sell quickly during a month when
the weather is gloomy but the interest rates are low. Waiting for
spring flowers to bloom before planting your "For Sale" sign may
improve your home's curb appeal, but may not have as much effect on
the sale of your home as interest rates that go up as quickly as
your tulips. The ideal time to sell your house is when you're ready
to sell it.
Over-improving the home prior to selling
Sellers may spend thousands of dollars doing the wrong upgrades to
their home prior selling, expecting to recoup this cost. If you are
thinking of selling, ask me which upgrades are cost effective.
Underestimating the importance of "Show Condition"
You’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase, “curb appeal.” The same type of
instant and overall impression occurs inside your home as well. You
want your home to show as positively as possible, and that means the
rooms should be as light, bright, and large as possible. One way to
do that is to cut down on clutter or extra furniture that makes a
room seems smaller than it is. The more uncluttered a room is, the
more spacious it feels to a “house hunter”. Many people do not have
the “vision” to be able to see a room or house differently than it
appears in front of them. Unfortunately, housekeeping counts too.
The cleaner a home is it both makes a positive impression and
creates an impression that the house has been well maintained. Many
housecleaning companies offer a one time top-to-bottom cleaning for
people putting their houses on the market.
Sellers have said to me, “But they’re not buying the house furnished
– they’ll be redoing it anyway,” or “They’re not hiring me as a
housekeeper, so what do they care?” Although those are logical
arguments, buyers tend to not be able to get past things that make
an immediate negative impression. And a property that is not clean
or well maintained often suggests hidden defects that increase the
total cost of ownership.
You should make all necessary repairs, and spruce up the house
inside and out, keep it clean and neat, or risk chasing away buyers
brought in by realtors. Buyers will leave themselves a large margin
for error for the cost of repairs, reducing their offer price.
Staying home during showings
Your instinct may be to be present during showings for any number of
reasons: to assess the buyers’ reactions, to supervise, or to point
out tiny details the showing agent may not know to mention. I can
tell you in no uncertain terms from experience, both my own and that
of my clients, that this is one of the worst things you can do.
As a buyer, it is quite uncomfortable and leads to two common
results:
* a quicker than normal walk through without paying attention to
details
* an unwillingness to ask questions or make comments that are part
of their decision making process.
Not listening to the feedback
Whenever you house is shown, I will get feedback from the buyers (or
their realtor) about what they liked about your house, and what
shortcomings they may have perceived. There are some things you can
do nothing about – for example, the fact that your backyard slopes
steeply, the amount of traffic on your road, or that your house is
next to a business building. Some things, however, you can change,
and if a specific item comes up several times it is a good idea to
address it. Buyers often assume that an area of your house that
shows neglect or disrepair reflects on the same lack of attention to
unseen areas. Your goal is to sell your house, not to win an
argument defending why your side yard fence is unpainted and
rotting.
Limiting the Marketing and Advertising of the Property
There are two obvious marketing tools that nearly every seller uses:
open houses and classified ads. Unfortunately, these two tools are
rather ineffective. Less than 1% of homes are sold at open houses,
and less than 3% are sold because of classified ads. In fact,
realtors often use open houses to attract future prospects, not to
sell the house.
I employ a wide variety of marketing techniques and am committed to
selling your property … I am available for every phone call from a
prospective buyer. Most calls are received and open houses are
scheduled during business hours, so having a full-time realtor is
the key to your success.
Forgetting that everything is negotiable
The words, “I have an offer for you” are music to your ears – that
is, until you hear the number following the dollar sign, and (gasp!)
the conditions that accompany it. Before you panic, remember that
buyers assume that their offer is a first step in a back and forth
dance between buyer and seller. Try not to personalize the issues –
the buyers have never even met you, and this is, ultimately a
business deal. It is important to work with me, I am used to the
real estate negotiation process and with some patience and perhaps a
little compromise a deal can be reached.
Failing to take the first offer seriously
Many sellers believe that the first offer received will be one of
many to come; hoping to hold out for a higher price, especially if
the offer comes in soon after the home is listed. Often the first
offer ends up being the best buyer, and many sellers have had to
accept far less money than the initial offer much later on in the
selling process. Homes are most saleable early in the marketing
period.
|
