| Perhaps the most challenging aspect of selling a home is listing it
at the correct price. It's one of several areas where the assistance of
a skilled real estate agent can more than pay for itself.
Too High Can Be As Bad As Too Low
If the listing price is too high, you'll miss out on a percentage of
buyers looking in the price range where your home should be. This is the
flaw in thinking that you'll always have the opportunity to accept a
lower offer. Chances are the offers won't even come in, because the
buyers who would be most interested in your home have been scared off by
the price and aren't even taking the time to look. By the time the price
is corrected, you've already lost exposure to a large group of potential
buyers.
The listing price becomes even trickier to set when prices are
quickly rising or falling. It's critical to be aware of where and how
fast the market is moving - both when setting the price and when
negotiating an offer. Again, an experienced, well-trained agent is
always in touch with market trends - often even to a greater extent than
appraisers, who typically focus on what a property is worth if sold
as-is, right now.
Agent Education, Experience Critical
When working with a real estate agent, it's critical that you
have full confidence in that agent's experience and education. A
skilled, knowledgeable agent should be able to explain to you exactly
why your home needs to be priced at a certain level - compared to recent
listings and sales of homes similar to yours.
Experienced agents also know exactly what the current pool of buyers
are looking for in relation to particular styles and price ranges of
properties. A skilled agent can recommend changes that will enhance the
salability of your home, thus increasing the price - and/or decreasing
the length of time before a sale.
Little Touches Can Generate Big Returns
Some of these changes may be cosmetic, involving literally no expense on
your part. It might be as simple as moving out some of your furniture
and adjusting window coverings to best display desirable qualities of
the home. Other changes might demand an investment, but the cost will
likely more than pay for itself in the final sales price or timeliness
of the sale.
It's critical to keep all these aspects of pricing in mind,
regardless of whom you choose to list your home.
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