STRATEGIES IN PRICING AND TRUST

What’s the best strategy and should you trust your Realtor or an online valuation, or just price at what you want out of the home?

This can be applied to a lot of industries but let’s stay focused on real estate. There are different real estate professionals. Some are licensed real estate agents and some Realtors, and some licensed and dealing with investment properties or flipping properties.

This has happened more than once when a client who is thinking about, or ready to sell, calls to schedule a meeting and discuss listing the home for sale. Almost everyone of course wants the most they can get for their home. That is under-standable. But is it realistic to put a price on a home based on what you would like to end up with, usually to fund the next house or retirement plans? So, say the comparable sales show your home in the $500,000 range. But you want to ask $850,000 because you want to buy a retirement home and a RV and have money to travel. Is that logical?

Another example - an online valuation says your home is worth $1,750,000 based on aggregate information. Let's say it's a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 2-car garage, 1500 sq ft, on a 5,000 sq ft lot. It was never updated but is in good condition. It's a basic house in a good neighborhood. The last three homes that sold with the same aggregate information sold on the other side of the neighborhood and all three homes had been completely updated - kitchen, bathrooms, landscaping, roof, windows, plumbing, electrical etc. Would it be reasonable to think your “original condition” home is worth the same amount?

Some people think they need room to negotiate. In this balanced market we are in, you need to start with an attractive price to get Buyer’s off the couch and through your front door to see the home in person first. Price it a little below what it should sell for is a better strategy in my opinion. Some sellers think negotiating down is better than negotiating up. People (Buyers) in general prefer not to have to negotiate to a lower price. They would actually prefer to “find a deal” and pay a little more.