Just as a buyer may have unrealistic expectations of the kind of deal they can get on a home, many sellers believe their home should be listed for more than their realtor advises. Realtors are in a tight spot when it comes to trying to reason with a seller about the price of their home. They have to be sensitive to not only the monetary investment that was made, but also the emotional investment. The bottom line is simple: if a home isn’t priced to sell, then it probably won’t.
Get real with your home price… and you will sell your home! At any given moment, there are usually many homes lingering on the market. When a home is on the market and it is getting too few showings or no showings at all, it is usually priced too high, period. If a home is on the market and lots of people are stopping by to view it, but if no one submits an offer or if the offers that come in are well below the asking price, usually the price is too high, period!
Unrealistic expectations is usually the culprit, yet it could be a denial of the market we are in. It is amazing how many sellers I speak to that are shocked when they learn how much their home is truly worth. We aren’t in the market we were in five to ten years ago.
Most home sellers have a dollar amount in mind that they feel their home is worth. They’ll even make statements like, “I just want to get out of it what I’ve put into it”, but this is usually just not realistic. A question I usually ask clients is, “When you had that installed into the home, did you do that for your own personal use and pleasure or for the use and pleasure of the next buyer?” So if a potential buyer hates all the work you had done, and they plan to get rid of it as soon as they move in, how much value is it to them?
Homeowners should never expect to get back every dollar they’ve invested into a home. In most cases, the person buying your home will never feel it’s worth as much as you do. You might have paid $40,000 to upgrade your kitchen with the latest in culinary devices and appliances, but if the person who buys your home hates cooking, they definitely won’t be willing to pay an inflated price for your home simply because you want to be reimbursed for the money you spent.
Buyers these days are savvy and no longer allow their emotions to be the judge. They are all over the internet comparing prices of different homes and are looking for a “deal!” There may be a few impulse “shoppers” out there but overall buyers are really doing their homework and with good reason.
If you are getting showings with no offers…TOO HIGH.
If you aren’t getting many showings at all… TOO HIGH.
Get real with your home price. You’ll be glad you did when you’re able to sell your house a lot sooner than your neighbors do.
Want to find out how much you could realistically sell your home for in today’s market? Give us a call or fill out the form below. We’d love to help.