Have you ever lived in a neighbourhood where one of the homes for sale seems to sit for an incredibly long time, with fewer and fewer people coming to each open home?
It’s a nice enough home, right? Lots of curb appeal. You have been over for a BBQ last summer or coffee and the inside is just lovely.
So, why isn’t it selling?
In a word? Overpriced.
It can make it even worse when the old ‘price reduced’ gets thrown into the equation. The home is now stigmatized.
What this means is that home buyers think that there is something wrong with the home and some of them won’t even bother to look at it. Or you can attract the fixer upper crowd hoping to snap up a bargain, which is not exactly what you had in mind.
So, if you’re considering selling your home and want to “experiment” with pricing, beware of these 3 common home pricing mistakes.
1. Pricing too high
It’s common knowledge in the real estate industry that overpriced homes take longer to sell. It doesn’t mean that you will necessarily get that price if you wait long enough with your home on the market, you more than likely won’t.
If your home sits for too long you have several options. Wait and see, reduce the price or pull it and re-list at a later date. None of these options are particularity good which is why pricing right first time round is the way to go.
When price reduction happen buyers can think there is something wrong with the house, maybe it has rot or is too small inside. The perfect buyer could be right there and not even give your listing a second look.
The same goes with the house being too high in the first place. Of course you want to get the best possible amount, but it needs to be realistic.
2. Relying on online home price estimates
Admit it, you’ve checked out homes.co.nz or pricemyhouseforfree.co.nz to have a sneaky look what it might be worth and the figure has stuck in your head right?
Unfortunately, many homeowners do just that and don’t understand that there is simply no way anyone can make an accurate estimate of market value without having seen the home.
These sites don’t take all the information into account unfortunately, or the sold listings, which is what the market value is based on. This is why you should never rely on a websites estimate to tell you what you should have your home price set at.
The only way to truly know how much your home is worth is to have it professionally appraised. This is where we come in.
3. Basing your price on your neighbour’s asking price
When you consider putting your house on the market, it’s only natural to want to know what your neighbours are asking for their homes.
Keep in mind, however, that this figure represents what your neighbour hopes to get for his or her home, not its actual market value.
The true market value of a home is based on what buyers actually paid for nearby homes, similar to yours.
Homes can be as individual as we are, your neighbour may have two bedrooms and a massive kitchen with a walk in pantry and enormous deck. Whereas your home has three bedrooms and an office with a moderate sized kitchen. Don’t forget about land side and garaging. Every detail comes into play when pricing a home.
Determining the value of a home includes far more than checking sales prices. I am happy to show you – at no obligation — what I do to determine the current value of homes and to provide you, free of charge, an analysis of your home’s value. Call me any time.
Brent Palmer – Professional Real Estate Consultant
About the Author: The above article on The 3 Most Common Home Pricing Mistakes was written and provided by Brent Palmer, a local leader in the field of Richmond and Nelson Real Estate sales, marketing, advanced technology for home selling, and social media. You can contact Brent Palmer here, or at 027 544 9921.
He has helped many people buy and sell homes in the Nelson, Stoke and Richmond areas for years, and would love the opportunity to help you as well.
Thinking of selling your home? I have a real passion for helping people sell their homes in our Nelson and Tasman Region, as well as the marketing, social media & advanced technology for home selling that goes along with it. I’d love to have the opportunity to sit down with you discuss how we can work together to get you the best price.
I help people buy and sell real estate in the following Nelson and Tasman towns & neighbourhoods: Wakefield, Brightwater, Hope, Appleby, Redwood Valley, Mapua, Stoke, Tahunanui, Atawhai and of course, Richmond and Nelson City. Connect with Brent on Facebook and pretty much everywhere else.
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