What Price Should You Ask For Your Home?
Tuesday, 17 February 2009 12:07
Author: John Graystew
Many people believe that starting with a high asking price is the right thing to do. After all, you can always come down later on, if no one's interested in the home at a high price point, right? Wrong.
Many people believe that starting with a high asking price is the right thing to do. After all, you can always come down later on, if no one's interested in the home at a high price point, right? Wrong.
Everyone knows that the housing market is tough right now. A lot of inventory, a lot of competition and not too many buyers. This means that your house is competing with other homes. If they're priced right and your house is priced right, they will win.
If buyers are talking to an agent, that agent knows the market. He knows the listings that are on the market. He also knows which listings are overpriced. And he's not going to waste his time, and the buyer's time, with looking at an overpriced house.
Maybe you're mare than happy to negotiate. A lot of homeowners are. You're hoping for an offer, so you can take a big amount off the price and still keep enough to get equity out of your house. But you will be hard pressed to get an offer. It will even be tough to get showings in this market. If you don't have showings and you don't have an offer, you can't negotiate.
Let's say that you've started with an asking price that is too high. Now, after 3 months of little activity, you've decided to come down. Buyers know notice your home, but they will wonder what is wrong with your house. Why has it been on the market for a couple of months at that price?
Maybe a few smart buyers find out that you've just dropped in price. The problem with that is they might reason that you're in a tight spot. In that case, you will get low ball offers from people hoping to buy your home on the cheap because of your situation.
These are just a few reasons why you should always start with a solid, realistic asking price for your home. Overpricing can be done in an extremely hot market, not in today's slow real estate market.
Many people believe that starting with a high asking price is the right thing to do. After all, you can always come down later on, if no one's interested in the home at a high price point, right? Wrong.
Everyone knows that the housing market is tough right now. A lot of inventory, a lot of competition and not too many buyers. This means that your house is competing with other homes. If they're priced right and your house is priced right, they will win.
If buyers are talking to an agent, that agent knows the market. He knows the listings that are on the market. He also knows which listings are overpriced. And he's not going to waste his time, and the buyer's time, with looking at an overpriced house.
Maybe you're mare than happy to negotiate. A lot of homeowners are. You're hoping for an offer, so you can take a big amount off the price and still keep enough to get equity out of your house. But you will be hard pressed to get an offer. It will even be tough to get showings in this market. If you don't have showings and you don't have an offer, you can't negotiate.
Let's say that you've started with an asking price that is too high. Now, after 3 months of little activity, you've decided to come down. Buyers know notice your home, but they will wonder what is wrong with your house. Why has it been on the market for a couple of months at that price?
Maybe a few smart buyers find out that you've just dropped in price. The problem with that is they might reason that you're in a tight spot. In that case, you will get low ball offers from people hoping to buy your home on the cheap because of your situation.
These are just a few reasons why you should always start with a solid, realistic asking price for your home. Overpricing can be done in an extremely hot market, not in today's slow real estate market.
About the Author:
John is a real estate agent specializing in European properties. He writes real estate articles in English about the real estate market and in Dutch about makelaar eijsden and makelaar.
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