subject: How to Determine your Listing Price [print this page] How to Determine your Listing Price How to Determine your Listing Price
There are many factors that go into achieving the optimal value for your home. This will include researching similar area properties, as well as trying to gauge how much a buyer would be willing to fork over for your property. Placing the appropriate price will attract lookers, and generate more offers.
Unfortunately, homebuyers usually depend on price as the premiere factor in determining which homes they will view. This means that you can price yourself out of the market before you even begin. It is important to note that although both you and your realtor will collaborate on the set asking price, it is the buyer who must set the final selling price.
An appropriate asking price will:
Generate a quick sale, with the seller experiencing less inconvenience
Give the property more exposure
Increase real estate agent response
Create more ad inquiries
Prevent your home listing from becoming stale or stagnant
On average, a home that sells quickly often sells at or over the asking price.
Why sellers overprice their listing:
They have over-improved their property
They paid too much for the home and are trying to recoup losses
They want to leave room for negotiating
The pitfalls of overpricing
Most activity on a recently listed home happens within the first 14 days. Properly pricing a home creates a sense of urgency with agents and buyers.
There will be a group of buyers on the market who have seen all the available homes in their budget, and they are just waiting for new houses to be listed or present houses to be reduced. Your house will never be seen by these people if it is priced out of their range.
Many sellers leave room in their listing price for an expected price reduction. Unfortunately, buyer interest may have waned, and the reduction won't make a difference.
The first question buyers and agents want answered is how long your home has been on the market. Even though your home may have an extended stay on the market because you priced it to high, buyers won't see it that way. To a buyer, any home on the market for a long time must have something wrong with it.
Your neighbors will love you for overpricing your home, especially if theirs is on the market as well. Overpricing a listing makes it easy for anyone else in your area to sell their reasonably priced home. By the time you realize your error, the market may have dried up in the area.
