Sellers

Selling a Home

If you are thinking of selling your home, chances are you're caught up in a mass of emotions. You may be looking forward to moving up to a new home or facing the uncertainty of a major move across country. You may be reluctant to leave your memories behind or eager to start new and exciting adventures. Remember, we're here to help you with any of your needs. Call or email us today!

Setting the Listing Price

In setting the list price for your home, you should be aware of a buyer’s frame of mind. Based on a list of houses for sale in your neighborhood (which can be in the form of a printed list from us, or online search results that you’ve found yourself), buyers will determine which houses they want to view. Consider the following pricing factors:

• If you set the price too high, your house won’t be picked for viewing, even though it may be much nicer than others in the area. You may have told your REALTOR® to "Bring me any offer. Frankly, I’d take less." But in that list of houses, yours simply looks too expensive to be considered.
• If you price too low, you'll short-change yourself. Your house will sell promptly, yes, but before it has time to find the buyer who would have paid more.

NOTE: Never say "asking" price, which implies you don't expect to get it.

To determine the proper list price, contact me today and I'll provide you with the following professional services:

• Furnishing comparable sales.
• Analyzing market conditions.
• Helping to determine offering incentives.
• Estimating your net proceeds.

Using Comparable Sales

No matter how attractive and polished your house, buyers will be comparing its price with everything else on the market. Your best guide is a record of what the buying public has been willing to pay in the past few months for property in your neighborhood like yours.

Also we can furnish data on sale figures for those "comps", and analyze them for a suggested listing price. The decision about how much to ask, though, is always yours. The list of comparable sales we bring to you, along with data about other houses in your neighborhood presently on the market, is used for a "Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)." To help in estimating a possible sale price for your house, the analysis will also include data on nearby houses that failed to sell in the past few months, along with their list prices.

This CMA differs from a formal appraisal in several ways. One major difference is that an appraisal will be based only on past sales. In addition, an appraisal is done for a fee while the CMA is provided by us and may include properties currently listed for sale and those currently pending sale.

In the normal home sale, a CMA is probably enough to let you set a proper price. A formal written appraisal (which may cost a few hundred dollars) can be useful if you have unique property, if there hasn't been much activity in your area recently, if co-owners disagree about price, and any other circumstance that makes it difficult to put a value on your home.

One of the most critical pieces of the home sale puzzle is setting the right price for your property. Eric will conduct a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) using the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to determine the best price you can expect to receive for the least amount of time on the market, setting the right price for your house at market value.

Beware of agents who price your home higher than its comps. Houses priced too high do not sell quickly, and the longer a home is on the market, the more perceived value it loses.

Eric will also make suggestions on how to get your property sale-ready and open home ready. From there, Eric will:

• Feature your home on its own single property listing website, one of the most effective ways to provide detailed information about your home – including photos and video – to the 90% of home buyers who conduct their searches online.
• Market your home through multiple listing and advertising channels – online and via traditional means.
• Host open homes and actively seek feedback from any prospective buyers.
• Field all offers and queries about your property, and communicate these to you promptly.
• Make offers and counter-offers on your behalf.
• Negotiate with the seller’s agent or seller on your behalf.
• Review and explain real estate contracts.