Selling a home is serious business. Your home is one of the largest assets you have. Consequently, making good choices and minimizing risk is key. Following are some helpful suggestions for consideration:
1. Don’t overprice your home. It will cost YOU money! The Savannah area market remains highly competitive. Even though there are a lot of national news stories about market recovery, price appreciation, and inventory shortages, you can’t let that make you overestimate a market position and, thereby, take unnecessary risks. There’s a truism in the industry: All real estate is local. The national news stories are based on the top twenty metropolitan areas tracked and included in the Case-Schiller Index. That experience may have little to do with what’s going on in your home town. So, when it comes to putting your home on the market, it will be critical to look at properties in your neighborhood (or close to it) that have sold in the last 90 days. If home condition and features are similar, pricing at or near the average sold price per square foot is a reasonable approach. Sellers who need to sell quickly typically market their homes at up to 10% below market average and will often create a flurry of showing activity and potential multiple bids. However, Sellers who want to ride a potentially mythical wave of price appreciation, without serious discussion and evaluation of pro’s and con’s with their Realtor, could find themselves priced out of the market. Overpriced homes will languish and sellers may be forced to chase price with subsequent price reductions. Unfortunately, it could be similar to chasing a ball down a hill. You never catch up. In the long run, excessive days on market and multiple price reductions will encourage potential buyers to “lowball” offers. As a result, you lose net proceeds.
2. Don’t be surprised if the first offer on your property is the best offer you receive. Face it, there’s never been a time like today when so much information is available to buyers. Typically beginning on line, buyers will check for a “Zestimate” to set the ballpark of what your home’s value might be. (These estimates may or may not have any basis in reality.) They’ll pull county tax assessor records. There’s even access to superior court records to see what you borrowed to buy the home originally in hopes that they’ll get a sense of how much negotiation room you might have. And, that’s all before they even talk to a Realtor! Multi-list features allow the buyer’s Realtor to profile your neighborhood and automatically generate reports that will show all the necessary parameters to develop a price offer that is in line with recent sales, tempered by the number of days your home has been marketed. Reasonable buyers, assisted by knowledgeable Realtors, will craft good offers. As a result, EVERY offer, but particularly the first received, needs to be evaluated carefully. No knee-jerk reactions allowed! Even an initial low offer is presented, countering with market-sensitive terms is highly recommended.
3. Don’t let your property sit on the market too long before making a significant change in price. For the last several years, the real estate market has been flooded with foreclosures. When banks are involved in home sales, you can almost guarantee that every 30 to 45 days, a price change will be made until the property is sold. The banks are not interested in holding properties; they want them off the balance sheet. So, systematic price reductions will lead the property to the “sweet spot” when the price is so attractive, buyers will act with urgency. Buyers have become accustomed to this type of market trend and expect that sellers will remain sensitive to market nuances, making price or other adjustments as necessary. Your initial price reflects the conditions when you listed. However, conditions may change. Your Realtor should provide a monthly market positioning report to help you track market changes, enabling you to know when a price change may be needed. Properties that remain on the market for extended periods without any price changes are overpriced --- plain and simple. Not only do these homes become “stale,” they also come across to buyers as being owned by sellers who are likely to be unreasonable in the negotiation process.
4. Don’t think that all real estate agents and companies are created equal---they’re not. When you plan to sell your home, it will be critical to know the real estate brokerage’s track record as well as its business philosophy. Every company (in every industry) has a “feel,” an intangible dynamic that affects activity. Is the company busy? Productive? Well regarded? Have they won service awards? Do they reward their Realtors for working together instead of acting in isolation? Do they have a strong web presence? Do virtual and physical caravans? Ask for their numbers. Likewise, agents may be incredibly different in their approaches to marketing a property and causing it to sell. Ask for the details on the home marketing system. Is it heavily focused on web-based strategies? Will it include high tech elements? Video/virtual tours? What is the plan for agent-to-agent marketing? You are going to need more than a sign and a profile in the multi-list!
5. Don’t make it difficult for agents and buyers to see your home. Yes, you have a life. You have dinner guests planned, family from out of town, and kids to feed. Keeping your home clean and available for showings is a necessary evil of the process. However, buyers want to look at homes at their convenience, and that may not always be on Saturday afternoon between 2 and 4, when you know you will be at the kids’ soccer practice. It is critical to maintain a high level of flexibility in the times your home can be shown. Requiring restrictions, such as “24 hour notice required,” will result in potential buyers bypassing your home for another.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment