The home sale process is a marathon with complicated small steps and a lot of work, so what is the single greatest pitfall that home owners make when they list their home on the local market?

                                                                                   


Selling Price To High

You may have guessed this as the answer with the prevalence of articles on the subject. However, countless sellers continue to make this mistake, and it is an important one to avoid when you want a fast home sale.


How Do Sellers Fall Into This Trap?

It is the easiest trap to fall into because of the potential reward if it was to sell for the number you want. Perhaps you are thinking about everything you could do with the extra money you will make from listing your home at a higher price like buying a bigger house, or a second house. When you first go to list your house do not let yourself get caught up in the excitement of the sale and price your house out of the market.

What happens when a home is priced too high?

The greatest amount of traffic and media attention of a home begins the first few weeks that a house is listed on the market. As a recent arrival, agents and home buyers alike will flock to the MLS listing, the online resources, and to the door to take a look at what your home specifically has to offer and whether it is a good fit to prospective home buyers. Setting the price too high basically cuts off a portion of buyers who would otherwise be interested in the property because one glance at the price and they will move on. Many buyers will not waste their time looking at homes that are out of their budget range, and why would they purchase your home when there may be a home that is quite similar to yours being sold at a more affordable price just down the street?

After a certain amount of time on the market, a house will lose its selling momentum and new incentives must be added on in order to generate more traffic. Most of the time, this will mean the price will be readjusted to something that is more fitting to the market value or even undervalued because the home has been on the market for months, even a year or so. For such a long interval, sellers are often exhausted by the sale process and the length of the sale has eaten away at the profits they could have earned if the sale was priced correctly in the first place.

How To Set A Price

In the end the only two parties that set the price is the buyer and seller. The buyer will want to get the lowest price and the seller will want to get the most money possible for their house. With these two forces at work the price of the home will end up near the true market value of the house for the current market. This is what really determines that local market value of the home not what the agents or appraisers think. Remember the price that they give you is just their estimate and does not always reflect what the house is really worth, that value is only determined when you actually sell the house.

How to price a home accurately

No matter whether you are using a Realtor or you are selling your home privately, do your research. Look at comparable homes in your neighborhood and their sold prices within the past 3 months. Go to open houses and track their sales effort. Interview multiple real estate agents so you are able to pick a local, experienced one to handle your sale. If you are unsure, it is always better to set your sales price too low and have multiple offers that bring up the price than to set the price too high and have no offers.