this is the same thing, but value is more than just the price of the

property. The value is what is being offered and there are many elements to

this.

The first one is the obvious which is price."/>
this is the same thing, but value is more than just the price of the

property. The value is what is being offered and there are many elements to

this.

The first one is the obvious which is price."/>
this is the same thing, but value is more than just the price of the

property. The value is what is being offered and there are many elements to

this.

The first one is the obvious which is price." />
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Preparing For A Sale – Pricing Strategies

4 min read

In today’s current market, selling a home can be a bit more challenging due

to the competition of short sales and foreclosure properties that are

currently on the market. Many of the clients searching for a home are

looking for a “deal”; I like to coin the phrase a “great value”. In my mind,

this is the same thing, but value is more than just the price of the

property. The value is what is being offered and there are many elements to

this.

The first one is the obvious which is price. Pricing ahead of the market is

imperative to sell in any real estate market. Selling a home is a grand

transaction and can have emotional attachments including great memories in

that property which Realtors do understand. It is statistically proven that

homes priced ahead of the market sell more quickly. I have seen to many

clients reduce the price of their home to “keep up with the market” because

it sits on the market to long and usually the price is much lower than what

it would have sold for if it was priced right when it was put on the market.

I will give you an example for clarity. A client has a home that he wants to

sell for $329,000. The comparable properties are currently selling for $299,000 within 30 days on the market. This property becomes automatically priced outside of its competition is given less consideration. After 60 days on the market they reduce the price to $319,000 and the rest of the homes are now selling for $289,000 and this client is still behind the market.

Another 60 days past and the client decides to go to $299,000 and get

aggressive; but the other comparable properties are now selling for

$279,000. After another 40 days on the market, the client is frustrated and

decides to go to $289,000. An offer is made for $283,000 and they accept

because the days on market are now close to 160 days. This client has

accepted an offer for $16,000 more than they needed to if it was priced at

$299,900 when they placed the properties on the market in which seven properties were sold for that same price and they were less of a house.

I always ask two questions of my clients prior to listing their property.

The first is how bad do you need or want to sell this property. The second

question is what is your bottom line dollar? In the above example, the

client stated that they needed to get at least $300,000 for that property.

However, during the time the property is on the market, their situation

changes financially and priorities shift and there was no leading indicator

that this was going to occur. If they have listed it at 302,000, the

property would have had an offer within 45 days.

As you prepare to put a property on the market, remember back to high school during economics class when the teacher talked about supply and demand. This applies in real estate every single day. During the “boom” time, you would have homes listed for $319,900 and they were selling for $339,900 because the demand was high and supply was low. In today’s current real estate market, the supply is high and demand is significantly less. Being priced ahead of the market is critical to selling your home.

As a Realtor it is my role to get as much as the market will give for my

clients property. By conducting comprehensive market comparative research we are able to list the property to sell which in return gets the client the

most money for their property. Once you start to chase the “price” you will

never catch up to it without giving up equity. Make sure you ask your

Realtor for the Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) for your property. Get

their opinion since they work in the market every single day and know what

sells and at what price.

Jason M. Jakus is a licensed realtor for Leisure American Realty, a full service Real Estate and Property Management company serving the beaches and surrounding areas of Lee County. Their office is located at 2450 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach FL 33931. For more information on this or any other real estate or property management subject contact Jason at 239.463.3178 or email RealtyInfo@LeisureAmerican.com.”