Selling a home for more
When selling a home, most people have two conflicting emotions. They want a quick sale, but they’re afraid the property may have been undersold. Given you can only sell your property once, it’s critical you get the highest possible market price.
Does the time on market matter when it comes to getting the highest selling price?
This may depend on the market conditions when you are selling. In a rising market, time can be your friend. Time may carry the price higher. But in a falling or stable market, time is your enemy. Time may erode your price. The longer you leave your property on the market unsold, the more time you give it to drop in value. Even in a rising market, a property that sits on the market unsold can (in buyers eyes) become a “lemon”.
Industry experts identify 3 components to a successful selling campaign: 1. Price; 2. Presentation; and 3. Marketing. Getting your pricing correct will do more to achieve a quick sale than marketing and presentation.
You may get several opinions about the possible selling price of your property. You will also have an expectation of the price. However, the most important perspective is what the buyers think the property is worth because at the end of the day, buyers will only pay what they can afford and what they feel a property is worth. To sell quickly, the seller’s expectation of price needs to overlap with at least one buyer’s expectation of price. If there is a price gap, the seller needs to adjust their price expectations or find a new buyer.
The maximum interest usually comes in the first 21 days of marketing. This is when the property is fresh to the market and potential buyers see it for the first time. If a sale isn’t achieved in the first 21 to 28 days, you must consider re-pricing, or waiting for new buyers to enter the market. Waiting for new buyers to enter the market can really affect your time on market out. For the success of the sale, within the first 21 days the agent and the seller must determine what the buyers are prepared to pay for the property.
The best way to assure the highest price is when you have more than one potential buyer. When you focus on what price will attract buyers, there’s a chance you might attract more than one offer. When this happens there’s a power shift. The focus moves from what price the seller will drop too, to what is the highest price a buyer will pay.
Quoting an attractive price, may attract multiple buyers. The highest possible price is assured if you have multiple buyers trying to buy your property.
It’s OK if bargain hunters don’t like your price. But it’s not good if the fair minded buyers reject your property on price. NEVER intentionally load the asking price with intent of coming down in price over time. This is because the best buyers will reject the home based on the initial high price and they are unlikely to return later when the price has been reduced. If you don’t like the price buyer’s offer for your property, that’s OK, just don’t sell.
For advice you can trust and a complementary copy of our latest book phone us today on 835-4321.
