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Kathie Helps You Sell
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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