The Impact of Pricing it Right from the Start

Looking back at a sample of 20 of our listings in 2011, we were able to see how many times the listings were viewed on Realtor.com. We noticed that days 3 through 10 often yielded the most views. This is when all those who are actively looking notice your home has been listed. However, after this “actively looking” group has seen the property, showing activity decreases to only those buyers that are new to the market. So, it’s absolutely crucial that you have your home in the best condition and properly priced at first exposure to the market.

Good Strategy Starts with Good Information

Before you can begin to know what your home is worth, you should do some research, and keep the following in mind:

1. Recently sold comparables is not enough. An analysis of what homes have recently sold for in your neighborhood is usually not enough to help you properly price your home. This will give a solid starting point, but probably not enough for you to base your entire pricing strategy on. It’s important that you also take into consideration how long similar homes have sat on the market and the price that has caused them to remain unsold.
2. Think like a buyer, and know your competition. The prospective buyers who will be viewing your home will be looking at a lot of other homes in the same price range as yours. That means they will be comparing your home’s condition, updates, extras, number of rooms, square footage and every other factor to other homes listed at the same price. How competitively priced is your home compared to those homes with similar features?
3. Zillow is very black and white. So many people refer to zillow.com when first establishing a price to sell their homes. Zillow is a great tool, but you have to consider what information it uses… and better yet, what it’s unable to know. Zillow publishes an estimate (they call it a “zestimate”), based on last sale information in the public tax records of similar homes. So, it’s good to know that the home just like yours down the street sold for $225,000 last week… but, it doesn’t tell you that it featured granite counter tops, hardwood throughout, a luxury bath, and newly finished basement. So, knowing that the home just like yours, but with all those updates, sold for that price, you probably wouldn’t list it as high as $225,000. This is information Zillow can’t tell you. Your best bet is to have a CMA or appraisal done. This will provide you with comparables including what they featured, if the sales price included buyer closing costs, and other crucial information.

IN A NUTSHELL…

1. In addition to comparing recently solds, analyze currently listed homes similar to yours.
2. Buyers search by area and price range. Your home should stand out when compared to other homes priced similar to yours if you want it to sell fast.
3. To come up with a competitive price it will take a fair bit of research on your part and ours. We can retrieve details from the MLS on recently sold homes and currently listed which you’ll need to do a proper analysis, and won’t find in public records or on Zillow.