In today’s ever-changing market, sellers seem to be making these CRITICAL mistakes that can turn potential buyers away or make homes sit on the market for way too long.
1-LEAVING TOO MUCH ROOM FOR NEGOTIATION
Yes, of course we want to list a little higher to leave some "wiggle" room for negotiation. But pricing it too high can lead to a home sitting on the market too long. A price that seems too high may turn potential buyers away.
2- PRICING IT BASED ON WHAT YOU WANT TO MAKE (Not What It’s Worth)
Another misstep is pricing it based on what you want to make on the sale, and not necessarily the current market value. You may see other homes in your neighborhood selling for top dollar and assume yours can do the same. But you may not be considering differences in square footage, updates, views, and features.
3- NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS
This is absolutely key to accurately pricing your property. I like to calculate the months of supply. How many homes sold in this area within the last 12 months plus how many homes are on the market right now?
(Considering only the past 12 months allows you to account for the seasonal effects in the market).
Take the number of sales in your area over the last 12 months and divide by 12. This gives you the average sales per month.
Next, get a count of the number of active listings currently on the market in that area.
Divide the number of active listings by the average monthly sales. This gives you the current months of inventory.
Six months of inventory is considered a balanced market. Less than six months is considered a seller’s market and more than six months is typically a buyer’s market. This calculation represents a shortage, surplus or balanced market and gives us a direction for how to price a home to sell.
THOUSANDS OF HOMES SOLD IN BALDWIN COUNTY IN THE LAST YEAR HAD A CHANGE IN PRICE
That's not necessarily a bad thing! When your agent makes a price change in MLS, it brings attention to the property by putting it on a "price change" or hot list that most agents check on a daily basis. So don't worry too much if you think you priced your house too high - just make sure your agent is paying attention to how many showing requests are coming in - that's always a good indicator to how potential buyers are perceiving the price you set.
If you would like to know what your home is worth in today's market, please reach out to me. I'll be glad to provide you with all the research you need to price and sell your home, as well as all the marketing and support you'll need to get the job done.
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