subject: Sell Your Property For Top Dollar By Pricing It Right [print this page] Home prices in most of the country are still declining. The home buying tax credits temporarily propped the housing market up, but those expired and now things don't look so great for U.S. real estate.
In Economics 101 we learn that when supply exceeds demand, home prices will go down. Even though home prices are already substantially less than they were years ago, as long as there is too much supply, they will continue to drop. In this state of excess inventory, the only homes that will sell are those that are the least expensive.
Most sellers won't accept the fact that home prices will continue to decline until after its too late. Many sellers are reluctant to drop their list price because they still envision a dollar figure it was once worth. Only those sellers that accept reality, and understand the market we are in will be able to sell their homes.
If you need to sell your house in this real estate market, here is a tip that will help you to save thousands in the long run. Price your house lower than market value. There is an imaginary curve, a point in which homes sell or do not. The sooner you price your home below the curves selling point, the sooner it will sell. The tricky thing is that, in a declining market, the "selling point" lowers each month. If you gradually make small price drops that are at or above the selling curve, your house won't sell until after the market has completely recovered.
At this point, your net sells proceeds are substantially less than they would have been had you priced your home well below market value in the beginning. So although it doesn't sound good right now, the best way to get the most money from your home is to substantially drop the listed price now.
