How Do I Price My Home To Sell Fast?

As a listing specialist in Chicagoland, I hear my clients ask this question all the time: “How do I price my Chicago home to sell fast?” By far, the most common reason that a home sits on the market and does not sell fast is that the home was overpriced. Frequently, homeowners have an inflated idea of the value of their home, based on upgrades in which they chose to invest, value in a previous market, their personal attachment to the house, or their necessity to pay off their mortgage. Unfortunately, these factors mean nothing to buyers who, rather that haggle over price, simply look elsewhere for homes that are priced according to market value..

When you have made a decision to put your home on the market, ask yourself, “what is my first priority? To dream about the price I want or to move to my new place?” If you have the luxury of waiting for your price, more power to you. But, if you need to sell your home in the near future, work cooperatively with your real estate agent, who will be able to provide you the accurate market information you need to understand the real market value that should allow you to sell your Chicago home fast.

Compare Your Home to Others on the Market

An experienced real estate agent knows that it is neither they nor their clients, who determine market conditions. They can advise you and bring you up to speed on the expected selling price of your home based on a comparable market analysis (CMA) which includes house prices in my area that help determine the value of my house. The CMA is a reflection of supply and demand, which really determines the market value of my house.

This analysis should consist of homes with similar attributes to yours, homes that are currently on the market and/or homes that have recently sold or homes that recently came off the market and failed to sell. By looking at the listing and selling prices of these similar homes and accounting for the differences with your home, you and your realtor should be able to get an accurate idea of the price for which your Chicago home would sell fast. Based on your priorities, the overall conditions of the market and the specific attributes of your house, you can set your listing price on the upper or lower end of this price range.

How do I price my house to sell fast? Look at the comparables in your market

Most Homes Don’t Sell for the Same Reason

When you and your agent sit down to look at comparable homes, consider a few factors. First, look at the homes that did not sell. Although it can be difficult to let go of the price you have in mind, you must be realistic, even unemotional, if you intend to understand the true value of my house. If you ignore the CMA, you will end up another casualty of the market, frustrated that your home did not sell. Study carefully the homes that did not sell, and ask yourself these questions:

  • How much is my house worth instantly?
  • How much might my house be worth down the road?
  • How long am I willing to wait to sell my house?

The answers to these questions are much more meaningful than your unsubstantiated opinion of value. Your ultimate goal is to price your house to sell fast because the hard reality is that the longer your house sits on the market, the lower the selling price will be. In a market driven by supply and demand, your listing price should create demand.

When selling fast, you and your family will get to your future place on time

Keep an Open Mind: Let Go of “Your Price”

It is natural to ask, “Why don’t we start off high, and if it’s not selling, we will reduce the price?” The problem with this strategy is that a newly listed home has the most interest when it first comes to market. No one has seen it yet, it is a new option for buyers to compare to homes they have seen and this excitement should get your home a lot of attention — as long as it is priced right. If your home is priced too high, buyers who have looked at other homes will pass it by without a second thought. They know there are better values on the market and your potential buyers will purchase another home.

Your homes is not the only home on the market and if you are not careful, your house will be the only home left on the market while all of your competitor’s homes have sold. If you try to drop the price too late in the game, the initial interest is gone. As you continue to lower your price, buyers will wonder if there is a problem with your home. It is a vicious cycle and you may end up having to drop the price below market value to find a buyer. When this happens, the process will have take you much longer and will cause a good deal of frustration. Do yourself a favor and listen to your agent and pay attention to the information in the CMA, your two best tools to price my house correctly.

What Else Impacts the Value of my Home?

There are additional factors to consider that could add or subtract to the value of your home. Square footage can influence value, and even more so, the floor plan of that square footage. The number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and amount of garage space can contribute to the value of my house. Lot size, location, proximity to convenient amenities or inconvenient nuisances, as well as availability of nearby new construction properties will also affect the value of my house. Your agent will be able to analyze all these factors through the CMA and give you and your home a more credible, fact-based value.

Value of a property includes the location, the age and the condition

Pay Attention to the Greater Housing Market

Additionally, general market conditions will certainly be a factor in determining what selling price you can expect. Comparable sales in your neighborhood provide undeniable and understandable data that appraisers will use when they inspect your home for the bank, You must consider this data as well as asking prices of local homes that are actively on the market. They are your competition. These are most prominent factors for determining the value of my house. Larger economic factors, such as unemployment, and the state of the local and national economy can affect the number of qualified buyers in your market. These buyers are the demand side of supply and demand. Your listing price must create demand.

Where there is an increase in the job market, there is an increase in housing demand which drives the price to go up

The Choice is Up to You to

Your real estate agent should present all this information, and more, for you to consider. That is your agent’s job. However, at the end of the day, the price at which you list your home is in your hands. Agents will guide you and advise to the right listing price but you may choose to ignore their recommendation. If you are unwilling to compromise on price and your opinion of value does not match up with the CMA information, the chances are good that your home will not sell quickly or easily. And, your agent of choice may decline to list the home.

Again, ask yourself what are your priorities. Is it worth risking remaining in your current home for the chance of possibly receiving few extra thousand dollars? It is important to be clear on what your agent’s marketing plan is. If you agree with it, help your agent as much as possible so you can both achieve your goals. At the end of the day, you and your agent have the same goal: to sell your home. The best way to achieve this is to accept the value of my house and price your home accordingly.

Hopefully the above information is helpful and now you have insight about how best to price my Chicago home to sell fast. If you are considering selling your Chicago home fast, please contact the experts at the Delphine Team at 847-550-3599. You will receive a free consultation and a CMA upon which you can rely.

Post a Comment