Price Your Home To Sell

So you’ve decided to join the multitude of sellers in today’s market and place your home for sale? Aside from all of the doom and gloom reported nationally, real estate will survive and once again prevail. Homes that are offered for sale at a competitive price ARE selling. In my St George Utah real estate market a well priced, competitive priced, home can sell in a matter of days, some homes are receiving multiple offers. Some thought those days were gone…not so. The key is the pricing. For the past several years the real estate prices were skyrocketing. Now that prices have been on a declining path, buyers who were priced out of the market are now surfacing. Prices are becoming desirable again and this is bringing out the bargain finders.

Unfortunately, many sellers must not have access to real estate market trends, as they are insisting on listing their homes at unreasonable prices. This is adding to the market inventory and also adds to the national reporting of "existing home sale decline". These reports are not all that accurate, as they do not take into consideration the ridiculously over priced homes that are included. Sadly, these overpriced homeowners find an agent that is willing to list this ridiculously overprice home. Typically these agents are classified as "listing collectors" or possibly new and inexperienced, desperate to perform by taking any listing.

The key to selling your property in today’s market is to KNOW your market. Selling your home yourself (FSBO) is possible, but regardless you will need the assistance of an experienced…and honest…agent. You must have a Current Market Analysis (or CMA) of your area. This must be extremely recent (no older than 6 months). You must be priced at OR BELOW the last few comparable home sales, also taking into consideration the competition currently listed. The days of pricing your home $5,000 MORE than what your neighbor got 5 months ago ARE OVER. Today, pricing your home $5,000 LESS than your neighbor is what will sell the home. Competition is key and pricing is critical. Pricing your home high to "test the market" is a recipe for disaster. Doing this will only contribute to the days on the market statistic, or worse you will begin chasing the market, which makes it impossible to ever arrive at a competitive price.

You MUST have your property in top condition, or be willing to drastically under price your home. If buyers have to create a "to do" list on your property they will move on to the next home for sale, likely there will be a few on your street. If you are a seller that believes you can leave the home a mess, the yard unfinished, several unfinished projects, and obvious need repairs you will find yourself frustrated that your home has not sold. Getting buyers to your door is the first step, this is what your listing agent will be working to achieve. It is up to you to make the buyers eager to make an offer.

Paula Smith is a REALTOR in St. George, Utah. If you would like to read additional articles regarding the St George real estate market please visit my St George Utah Real Estate News and Information page. http://www.stgeorgeutproperty.com/blog/