We’ve all heard the saying:  The most important factor in real estate is location, location, location.

That’s not entirely accurate.  If that were the case, only homes in good locations would sell.

Here’s what the saying should be:  The most important factor in real estate is price, price, price.

Virtually every home will sell (especially in the Conejo Valley) at some price.  It’s just a matter of finding that “right price”.  As you’ve probably heard me say before, a properly priced home will sell fairly quickly.

Pricing Your Home

There’s nothing wrong with trying a slightly above market asking price.  If no one ever priced a home above market, we’d never have any appreciation.

No one really knows what the fair market value of a home is until it’s put on the market.  The market will answer that question and usually fairly quickly.  Make sure you are listening.

When Should You Make an Adjustment?

It depends on a few factors:

  • If you knowingly priced your home high to “test” the market and you are getting very few or no showings, adjust quickly.
  • If you are getting many showings and it’s been a couple months with no offers, it may be time to make an adjustment.
  • How motivated are you to sell?  Every home has a price that will virtually guarantee an immediate sale.  Even the world’s worst real estate agent can quickly sell a $400,000 home for $300,000.  The question is how close to that “quick sale” price are you willing to go?

Breathing New Life into Your Home

A price adjustment can breathe new life into a home for several reasons:

  • Many agents (myself included) view the daily “hotsheets”.  This a quick way to view any new, changed, or reduced listings in our market area.  Even if you adjusted your price $1, it will be seen again by many agents.
  • There are hundreds if not thousands of active buyers who are set up to receive automatic email updates of new, changed, or reduced listings.  Making a price adjustment gets your home seen again by many potential buyers.
  • A substantial reduction can get you viewed by a whole new market.  If your home has been priced at $525,000 and you’ve now adjusted it to $499,000, there’s a whole new pool of buyers who couldn’t afford your home at $525,000 and probably never saw it who will now get a chance to see it.

How Much Should You Adjust?

Determining how much of an adjustment to make depends on many factors, your motivation to sell being the most critical.  Generally speaking, you’ll want to adjust a minimum of 1% of your asking price.

Time on the Market Matters

The fact that a price adjustment is necessary can be an emotional reality to face.  That’s understandable.  Every seller wants the highest price possible in the shortest amount of time and so do we agents.

There’s no question that the longer a home sits on the market, the lower the final sales price.  Be prepared to make adjustments quickly to ensure that your home stays fresh and attracts the highest price possible.

 

I’d love to help you sell your home!

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