The three most important goals when selling your home are: selling your home for the most amount of money in the least amount of time with the least amount of inconvenience to your lifestyle. The following are some important tips to help you achieve these goals:

Part Two – Selling Your Home in the Least Amount of Time

Before we get into all the details about how to sell your home quickly I think it’s important to discuss what a seller controls and what they can’t.
A Seller has Control Over: the condition of the property, the availability for showings, the price of the home, and whether  to offer a  home warranty.
A Sell has No control Over: the competition, the condition of the market, interest rates, and when the perfect buyer walks through your door.It’s important to keep this in mind because if you understand what you have control over – you can make wise decisions or adjustments to your strategy.

Every seller, understandably, wants to get the very most money out of their home when they decide to put it on the market. Sometimes the temptation is to set your price as high as you feel the market will bear and hope for the best. This is often the first mistake a seller will make.

There are many reasons why this can lengthen the time your home sits on the market. A potential buyer may not even look at the home thinking they simply can’t afford it. An overpriced home will help other homes in your neighborhood or area appear to be the better value. If a home sits on the market too long it will become “shop worn” causing people to assume something is wrong with the condition of the home. Overpricing tends to make it less likely that a buyer’s agent will show it.

Overpricing inevitably lengthens the marketing time resulting in a lower selling price than would normally otherwise be obtained. Today’s home buyer has endless tools to shop and compare homes. Lastly, because nearly every buyer needs to obtain financing through a bank, it’s futile to overprice a home.

So what sells a home faster? The right price, and the right condition.

To get your home sold for the most money in the least amount of time you have to price it “in the market.” In a market where the home values are rising, if a seller wants to get a price that is ahead of market values, you’re essentially betting that the market values will rise enough to make your home value attractive. It’s important to balance out how much time you want to have your home on the market vs. the amount of money you’re hoping to get from the sale of your home.

In a buyer’s market – like many agree we are in now – it’s important to price your home realistically so that you aren’t chasing after lowering home values because home values tend to drop faster than price reductions. Price your home competitively and there is a much greater likelihood that your home will sell faster.

Setting your home price “in the market” is important because a property generates the most interest when it firsts hits the market. Also, the number of showings is greatest during the first 30 days if it is priced at a realistic value. Starting too high and dropping the price later misses the excitement and will fail to generate strong activity. Many homes that start too high end up actually selling below market value.

Pricing your home competitively will generate the most activity from agents and buyers. Pricing your property too high will make it seem like less of a value against newer, well-priced listings. Ultimately, the value of your property is determined by what the buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept in today’s market. Buyers make their pricing decisions based on comparing your property to other SOL D properties in your area. Historically, the first offer a seller gets is usually the best.

As a Realtor my first priority is making sure seller’s get the most money out of their home as possible. If you’re thinking of selling your home please contact me and I will perform a free market analysis (CMA) to help you determine the best strategy to price your home correctly and achieve your goals of the most amount of money in the least amount of time.