Price Matters

I’m sure you’re very familiar with the timeless words of wisdom “You get what you pay for.”  Wise words for buyers indeed.  Unfortunately some sellers are under the mistaken impression that “You get what you ASK for.”  Let me cure you of that misunderstanding.  In order to achieve the best possible sale price for your home in the shortest timeframe your asking price must reflect Fair Market Value.

Today’s buyers simply have too much information available to them, both on the internet and through their own agent, to overpay for a property.  If you ask too much your home will simply sit on the market until you reduce the price to market value.  Worse, you’ve missed that critical window of opportunity, the new listing market buzz, meaning you might have to lower your price even further to get it sold.

Don’t get caught in the trap of adding “wiggle room” to your list price either.   That’s a dated pricing technique that simply doesn’t work in today’s online world.  If you hope to get $560,000 for your property but price it at $580,000 so that you have some bargaining room you risk hiding your property from the very buyers who will be interested in it, those people who are looking at homes priced at or below $575,000 and have set their internet searches accordingly.

Finally, if your Fairy Godmother waves her magic wand and produces an uninformed buyer offering your full overinflated price, don’t start celebrating too soon.  Once the appraiser has been out and reported the true value back to the buyer and their lender you’re going to be negotiating once again or maybe even back on the market.

soldSo, the moral of this story is, get our thoroughly researched competitive market analysis for your home and let us help you price it right the first time.  You’ll be glad you did.