Sellers: When it comes to pricing your home effectively in this market, the trick is to optimize list price. To perfect your list price, there are four major components to consider:
1. The odds to sell. We’ll look at your neighborhood’s sales history over a given period of time to see how many homes were on the market and compare that figure to how many homes actually sold. For example, if there were 10 homes on the market in the time period and nine of them sold, that indicates a really strong seller’s market, and you’ll likely have a good chance of selling your home.
2. The seasonality of the market. We’ll look at what time of year you’re most likely going to have a successful sale in your neighborhood per what type of home you have. Here’s a good rule of thumb: If you have a larger home—for example, one with 3,500 square feet and five bedrooms— it will be very seasonal. You’ll want to launch that listing around March or April. On the other hand, a smaller condo (e.g., 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom) isn’t very seasonal at all, meaning that it wouldn’t make much difference if you sold it in November or in April.
“Knowing ahead of time whether it will take 20 days or 90 days to sell will allow you to make good decisions regarding which offers to accept.”3. The time to sell in your neighborhood. Going into the home selling process, it’s very good to know how long it should take to sell in your area. Knowing ahead of time whether it will take 20 days or 90 days to sell will allow you to make good decisions regarding which offers to accept.
4. Comparable sales in your area. Looking at the homes in your area that have sold and are similar to yours in terms of size and condition should give you a good idea of what yours should sell for. When we’re in a strong seller’s market, generally, those past sales of homes similar to yours creates a pricing floor, meaning that yours should sell for more than they did. However, in a strong buyer’s market, the buyers are in control, and those comparable sales could form a price ceiling; you should expect to sell a little below that. In that case, you’ll need to be a little more aggressive to ensure that you get great offers for your home.
If you have any questions about home pricing or about residential real estate in general, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to address any topic you need.
