- Buyers are more educated, enlightened, and experienced than ever before. Many have made offers on homes and have looked extensively for properties.
- Buyers are saavy about pricing — They know when a home is priced improperly.
- Buyers expect a top-notch product that shows perfectly.
- Homes needed to be made to show perfectly for the debut day on the market.
- It makes other homes more attractive and can actually help sell the competition
- It will be shown to fewer prospective buyers
- Fewer prospects will respond to the advertising
- You may lose buyers who are willing to negotiate
A Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) is essential to determine the value of residential property. Location and characteristics of the property are key elements in determining value. Therefore, the basis for valuation of your property is similar properties in your area. The CMA takes into account the amount received from the recent sales of competitive properties as well as the quantity and quality of competitive properties currently on the market. The desired end result, of course, is to find the price that attracts a willing and able buyer in a reasonable period of time.
Once the value of your home has been determined, you can decide on an offering price that will achieve your goals. Generally, the price should not exceed the value by more than 5% or potential buyers may not even make offers. Naturally, if you want to sell quickly your asking price should be very near the value.
- Realistic pricing will achieve a maximum price in a reasonable amount of time,
- Your cost or profit desire is irrelevant. The market determines the price.
- The costs of improvements are almost always more than the added value.
- Houses that remain on the market for a long time tend to not be shown.
- A house that is priced right from the beginning achieves the highest proceeds
- The average Realtor-assisted home sale realizes a 16% higher sale price than does a FSBO. Is that 6% commission worth it? You do the math.
- 87% of all home sales are a direct result of Realtor contacts and marketing.“FSBOs often end up showing a home to such a small universe of buyers that they don’t realize how much
- more they could get if they exposed the property to all the interested buyers out there.”
- Buyers are more market-savvy than ever before - they expect a FSBO house to be priced at least 3-6% below the comparable sales, since they know you plan to keep the commission amount you would be building into the price had you chosen listing representation.
- Improper pricing is currently the number one problem encountered by FSBO’s. Just knowing what homes in your neighborhood are selling for is not enough.
- Getting a contract on your house is the easy part - keeping track of and completing the inspections, contingencies, and deadlines that come after the contract ensures your home sale makes it to the settlement table.
- “Unrepresented sellers have a median household income of only 11% less than that of sellers who use an agent from the get-go, but FSBO’s homes sell for 25% less.”