Monday, December 04, 2006

Pricing is (almost) everything

I have told you before that prices are becoming more realistic; nevertheless when I check the new listings; I still come across some overpriced new listings. If you are a seller and consider to put your property on the market you must make sure to price it correctly; otherwise it will not sell; as a matter of fact it won't even be shown and it just floods the market further.

When I have a buyer calling me on a property for sale one of their usual questions is "How many condos are for sale in that complex, or how many houses are for sale in that neighborhood?" You can imagine that the larger the number of listings the more likely the buyer thinks that 'something must be wrong' with the neighborhood or the condo complex if so many properties are for sale. True, the market is slower right now than it was a year ago but you can see in my other postings on this blog, properties ARE selling.

The only time it is justified to 'overprice' a listing is if the listing is so unique in nature that a potential buyer might simply fall in love with the property and is willing to pay more for lets say an incredible view in a very private location and there are no other properties on the market like it. Usually these are properties that are in the Millions price range where the buyer is not as concerned with the value but with having found his or her dream home.

I have been advising potential sellers to not put their property on the market if they are not willing to price competitively. Reason: If the property is overpriced: It won't sell. It's as easy as that! It is easy to determine the market value of a property by looking up other like wise properties that have sold in the past few months. Your realtor will do a Comparative Market Analysis for you. Try to not pay too much attention to what else is for sale because those prices do not represent the true value of a property.

It is sometimes difficult for a Realtor to suggest a lower listing price than what the seller has in mind. Realtors like listings of course and a seller does not like to hear that the price they had in mind is unrealistic, but a good realtor should give you a professional opinion based on facts. If you are interviewing several realtors you will probably get different suggestions for the asking price of your property. It is not wise to pick your Realtor by 'who gives you the highest listing price'. That won't sell your property!What will sell your property: right pricing, advertising, and a realtor who is available to show your property anytime.


These are the properties that came on the market today:
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These properties closed today:
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I hope you had a nice beginning of the week and thanks again for reading my blog.

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