Hear us out. List price is about seller strategy, not always the exact home value. When you go to put your home on the market, you do two things: hire an experienced agent and compare your home to recent neighborhood sales. Let's break those two things down a little further:
When you go to sell your home, finding an experienced, confident listing agent is absolutely key to a successful home sale. Why? Because this individual is your express ticket to the ins and outs of your local real estate market. Agents are aware of all of the trending buyer needs, types of contract hurdles that you may encounter and what over improvements you want to avoid through preparation. A listing agent will be able to walk through your home and tell you exactly what you need to do (and not do) to get your home ready to present to the largest pool of buyers in the marketplace.
The agent should also provide a CMA report (Comparative Market Analysis). This is the document that compares your home to recent neighborhood sales and estimates your home's value accordingly. This report holds a ton of information, including photos of the competition for a seller to see if certain improvements are pulling in a higher value. This report combined with the guidance of an agent, can help you pinpoint buyer trends like if escalations are common or even if it is taking longer for the homes to sell around the neighborhood. Two pieces that also contribute to the list price strategy! Sellers with more time and leeway to test the market may choose a less conservative figure for the list price versus a seller with a strategy prioritizing multiple bids with less contingencies. The conservative approach could include rounding down from exact home value to a common figure used when buyer's set their search parameters. Example: Value is around $906,000 but choose $900,000 list price to fall more in line with common search figures.
At the end of the day, even with all of this strategizing and analysis, this is just a tactic to bring buyers through the front door.
So buyers, when you are looking to put in an offer, don't be dissuaded by the home's list price. There may be more room for negotiation than you might think before hitting the home's actual value. And sellers, think about your life plans and how you want your selling experience to go. Then, find yourself a listing agent who knows their stuff and get to work!
'Til next time,
Jillian
Every month Jillian Keck Hogan shares local real estate insight, advice, and more. To learn more about Jillian and her team, visit jillianhoganhomes.com and follow her real estate group on Instagram @jillianhoganhomes. Equal Housing Opportunity.
