Tips on Pricing Your Home to Sell
Making the ultimate decision to sell your home is a pretty big deal, and agreeing with your significant other on a listing price is the first big hurdle among many in the selling process. Sellers can struggle with pricing accordingly, as many want to capitalize on the value of their home. The likely reasons for this are too few sales to compare the home to and having too high of expectations. Whether you are working closely with a real estate agent or listing the home on your own, selling a home can be a challenge.
In this article, we will discuss how you can properly price your Silicon Valley home to sell.
How to Properly Price Your Home
To learn the art of selling your home for the best possible price point, keep in mind all the following:
The Season
Spring is considered the best time to list your home on the market, no matter where you are. The weather is improving, and families are gearing up to go on summer break. Fall is considered the second-best, as most people are back in town from summer vacation breaks. Winter is going to be the slowest season, not only because of bad weather but because people are busy with the holidays. The best time to sell will vary from city to city.
The Inventory
Basic rules of supply and demand apply to real estate. If your home is one of twenty for sale in your neighborhood and there are not many buyers looking in your area, you might have a hard time selling for the price that you want. But, if you are selling in a hot market and you are one of few homes available in your area, you might be able to get your home sold for the asking price. Below, we have put together a comprehensive list of what kind of market will determine how quickly you will sell your house:
- Buyer’s Market: In a buyer’s market, you will have to price lower than the surrounding competition, because there are more homes for sale than there are buyers present in the market.
- Seller’s Market: In a seller’s market, you can add 10% to a comparable sale since inventory is limited and buyers are competing for very few homes.
- Neutral Market: In a neutral market, there is an even balance between the number of buyers and the number of homes for sale, and in this market type you will want to keep your eyes peeled on nearby comparables to ensure your pricing is similar.
Learn from Mistakes Other Sellers Have Made
You can get online and browse for expired listings in your area to gain insight on pricing your home accordingly to sell. Compare the original list prices of more recently sold homes with the final prices they sold for. Did it make price cuts to get sold? Was it overpriced to begin with?
Get a Second Opinion from an Expert
Real estate agents are pros when it comes to pricing properties accordingly. They have an understanding of the current buying trends while providing insight into how your home compares to others for sale nearby. It can be worth enlisting an agent’s help if you are struggling with finding the right price for your home.
Price for an Online Search Range
Consider the price range of your home and how it will fall into the popular online real estate websites. Most buyers have a price range that they have already considered or can afford. For example, if a buyer is looking at homes for $300k, then they will not likely see your home if it is listed at $305k, however, if you list your home for $299,999, it will show up in their search results, and they might end up being the buyer that wants your house.
You Can Cut the Price After Listing
Even with all the best research under your belt, sometimes you will find that you listed too high, and you have to decide to cut the price to sell more quickly. These cuts are common, and the key is to recognize how much you have overpriced quickly and make an accurate adjustment without raising eyebrows from the prospective buyers. Older listings simply aren’t attractive to as many buyers, and your goal is to quickly sell. It is always best to make one big price correction upfront rather than many later on.
Bottom Line
There are many tools that you can utilize to help you conclude the asking price of your home. You will be better served by taking advantage of the expertise of an agent, as they can assist you with maximizing your investment and your profit and help you meet your local market requirements. Trust the real estate professionals at Homeowner Experience Real Estate to guide you in finding and settling down in the home of your dreams in the many beautiful suburban neighborhoods that make up Silicon Valley today.