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Selling your Home Basics
Step 2: Setting the Price |
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Every reasonable owner wants the best
possible price and terms for his or her home. Several factors, including
market conditions and interest rates, will determine how much you can get
for your home. The idea is to get the maximum price and the best terms
during the window of time when your home is being marketed.
In other words, home selling is part science, part
marketing, part negotiation and part art. Unlike math where 2 + 2 always
equals 4, in real estate there is no certain conclusion. All transactions
are different, and because of this, you should do as much as possible to
prepare your home for sale and engage the Realtor you feel is best able to
sell your home.
In considering home values, several factors
are important:
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The value of your home relates to local
sale prices. The same home, located elsewhere, would likely have a
different value. |
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Sale prices are a product of supply and
demand. If you live in a community with an expanding job base, a growing
population and a limited housing supply, it's likely that prices will
rise. Alternatively, it's important to be realistic. If the local
community is losing jobs and people are moving out, then you'll likely
have a buyer's market. |
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Owner needs can impact sale values. If
owner Smith "must" sell quickly, he will have less leverage in the
marketplace. Buyers may think that Smith is willing to trade a quick
closing for a lower price -- and they may be right. If Smith has no
incentive to sell quickly, he may have more marketplace strength.
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Sale prices are not based on what owners
"need." When an owner says, "I must sell for $300,000 because I need
$100,000 in cash to buy my next home," buyers will quickly ask if
$300,000 is a reasonable price for the property. If similar homes in the
same community are selling for $250,000, the seller will not be
successful. |
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Sale prices are NOT the whole deal. Which
would you rather have: A sale price of $200,000, or a sale price of
$205,000 but where you agree to make a "seller contribution" of $5,000
to offset the buyer's closing costs, pay a $2,000 allowance for roof
repairs, fund two mortgage points, re-paint the entire house and leave
the washer and dryer? |
Because all transactions are unique there is
flexibility in the marketplace. The amount of flexibility depends on local
conditions.
For example, suppose you're selling a
townhouse. Suppose also that there have been five recent sales of the
model you own and that sale values have ranged between $200,000 and
$210,000. You now have an idea of how your home might be priced. In a
strong market perhaps you can ask for $210,000 or a little more. If the
market has slowed, $210,000 may be a reasonable asking price, but perhaps
more than the final sale price.
Here's another scenario. Imagine that you
live in a community of Victorian-style homes, most of which were built in
the 1920s. All the homes are different in terms of size, condition,
modernization, style and features. In such a neighborhood, an average sale
price is just a statistic without much practical meaning. On a single
block one home may sell for $400,000 while another is priced at more than
$1 million. The average price may be outrageously high for one home and
staggeringly low for another.
Our Experienced Realtors are active in the local
marketplace and can provide assistance with pricing, marketing,
negotiation and closing.
Because our experienced Realtors have handled many
transactions, they are familiar with the terms and conditions that went
into individual sales, not just published sale prices which may not
reflect various premiums, discounts and adjustments.
Contact Us Now To Get Started Selling Your House!
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