One of the most important financial decisions can be selling your home or investment property. Although the market conditions & price that you paid when you bought are equally crucial, choosing when to sell and how may determine the success of your investment. With obvious times not being at your advantage such as a ‘Buyer’s market’ when inventory of similar properties & interest rates are high, even in a ‘Seller’s market’ you cannot take for granted that everything will go quickly or smoothly.
When deciding to sell your property the two most important factors to ensure a successful sale are the right experienced Realtor and a realistic asking price. When you work with a Realtor to sell your property you are choosing a professional who has the experience and knowledge to analyze the listing and sales statistics to your benefit. Knowing how each of the comparable properties varied from your own is key in assessing your own value. By setting an accurate price you can maximize the number of offers from pre-qualified Buyers and at the same time minimize the amount of time between listing and receiving them. Studies show that the longer a listing has been on the market the lower the sale price will be. There is a steady decline between 4 and 12 weeks and then it drops off considerably after that. By overpricing or listing to ‘feel out the market’ you can miss out on serious Buyers who assume that you are not serious about selling. Others may have a price limit where the true market value is and therefore do not come to view your property at all. Understandably, most Sellers are concerned about under selling their property. If a property is so attractively priced below recent sales then there will most likely be offers from numerous Buyers increasing your sale price.
The longer a house stays on the market the less likely it is that the Seller will obtain their list price. Your first offer may very well be your best as it is likely to be from a Buyer ready, willing & able to buy. They may have been looking for a property for some time and have gained their own knowledge of market value. Other subsequent Buyers may just be starting out in their search and need time to look around.
Fewer listings on the market does not necessarily mean that Buyers are willing to pay an inflated price for a home knowing that similar ones have recently sold for less. Although it may be a prime time to sell, to reap the benefit a property must be priced accurately.
If you are considering selling please feel free to contact me for a current market evaluation of your property.