Real estate agents know that a house properly priced is half sold. Set your price too high, and no one comes to look at it. Set it too low and you have a quick sale -- but you short-changed yourself.
If you offered your house for sale at $2 million it would never sell (or it
would remain on the market until inflation caught up with your price.)
If you asked $10 for the property, you'd have a sale before your ad ever
hit the papers. The supervisor at the newspaper's classified ad department
would be at your door five minute after you called.
So you need only search for the figure, somewhere between $10 and $2
million, which will attract buyers and still bring you the most money possible.
Several factors should not influence your asking price:
Your cost. Suppose you had received the place as a gift. Must you
then give it away?
Your investment in improvements. You put in that purple kitchen
because you enjoyed it, but you are not likely to find anyone who feels your
house is worth $15,000 more because of it. They may instead be calculating the
cost of tearing it out and replacing it with something in turquoise.
Assessed value. This figure is set by the taxing authorities but
even in areas where a sincere attempt is made to keep it at market value, it's
almost never a dependable
guide to what buyers will pay.
Your needs. You may require $50,000 clear to use for the down
payment on your next home, but that's not the buyer's concern.
Emotion. Watch out that you don't ask too much for the place
because your daughter took her first steps on the porch and your beloved Tabby
is buried under the oak tree. On the other hand, don't let the stress of
divorce, or the need to settle an estate quickly, lead you to underprice the
place.
So what does count?
Only one thing.
What matters is how your home stacks up against the others currently
offered for sale and recently sold in your neighborhood. Buyers will be
comparing.
Supply and demand in the open market determine your value. Your broker can
tell you what buyers are paying for similar property -- and that's what counts.
And I wish you good luck.
Real Times Seller's Advice Articles
Published: March 25, 1999
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