Richmond based realtor Owen Bigland talks about the dangers of overpricing your home in a buyers market where prices are trending lower each month. You can get away with testing the high side of the price when we're in a sellers market where prices are going up. However when we're in a buyers market and prices are trending lower you need to price that home properly from Day 1. If you don't, you can get into situation where you're always one step behind and forced to make several price reductions as you follow the market down. Below is an excerpt from my Informed Sellers booklet on the importance of proper pricing in a buyers market.
PRICE. You need to get it right the first time! Sometimes a house is priced based on the sellers needs rather than what the current market dictates. When your home is priced and marketed properly according to the current market conditions buyers will actually compete for your house and you could receive offers over and above your asking price. PICKING A REALTOR BECAUSE HE OR SHE SUGGESTS THE HIGHEST LISTING PRICE IS PROBABLY THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO. Pick a Realtor because he knows the neighbourhood, knows how to price a property correctly and can justify it to you using detailed market comparisons. Listing a house too high to start and then reducing the price systematically every 30 days just doesn't get the same results. The longer a house is on the market the more people think there is something fundamentally wrong with it - even if there isn't. It's human nature. In many instances, a seller receives less money for their house than if he or she listed it properly from day one.
Remember the only way a qualified buyer can make an offer on your home is if they see it. The problem is, most buyers look up to their price range, peek a bit over, then focus only in their price range. By overpricing, you put your home into a price bracket where they won't look. The wrong price attracts the wrong buyers. The ones who could afford a market value price won't see it...and the buyers who do see your home won't be interested. The final result is that it actually helps competing houses look better by comparison. This phenomenon is known as a PIN-BALL listing where buyers bounce off over-priced properties to the ones that are properly priced.
This entry was posted on March 14th, 2013 by Owen Bigland | Posted in Video Blog