If the house is priced right, it will sell!

The other day I was driving by a house that had been on the market for a while, it expired with the first agent and was now listed with a new agent.  When I got back to the office I looked up the house and saw it was listed $40,000 less than it was listed for originally.  I knew the first listing agent and I had to chuckle because when she had the listing they got an offer for $20,000 more than it’s listed for now.  The original agent tried to explain the current market to them, but the seller refused to budge on the price, so the people moved on and bought a different house.  Now its 8 months later, they missed out on a house they really wanted and have to take less money than they would’ve gotten.  If only they had listened to the professional, who understands the market and has been doing it for years, they wouldn’t have wasted so much time. 

 

Each piece of property is unique, when an agent gives a suggested list price they are basing it on comparable properties in the area, current market situation, condition of the home and any external issues that potential buyers may not like, even though that same thing was never an issue to the current owners. 

 

Currently in Central CT, and most everywhere else, we are in a buyer’s market, which means there is a lot of inventory and the buyers have a more to choose from.  If you list your house higher than the suggested price you will most likely hurt yourself in the long run because….. 

 

♦ It will keep qualified buyers that could afford it if it were in the right price range away.

 

            ♦ If other agents feel the property is way overpriced they either won’t show it or will let their clients know its overpriced for the current market. 

 

            ♦ The longer a property sits on the market the lower the offers that you do get are going to be. 

 

            ♦ If you list too high with the intention of lowering it every few weeks, that makes buyers think that you’re desperate and again will give extra-low offers or not putting in an offer because they are waiting for the price to go even lower.   

 

            ♦ If you actually get someone to give you what you want, you have to contend with the bank’s appraisal and if the property doesn’t appraise for the sale price, that will most likely stop the sale because the buyers will no longer be able to the financing to go forward

 

On the flip side, even in the current market I have seen properties sell in 2 days, with multiple offers for asking price, because they were priced right.  Priced  right doesn’t mean giving the house away, it simply means pricing it for the current market. 

 

At the end of the day, no matter what you may want for your house, it’s only worth what people are willing to pay for it.  Choosing an agent, based on the highest suggested price is ultimately the kiss of death, especially if you’ve spoken with other people and their price is 10’s of thousands of dollars higher.   Doing that, most likely, isn’t going to produce the results you are looking for. 

 

If you’re ready to sell your home you can contact one of our experienced, Central CT premiere Realtors.