Not sure how much your home is worth? Use these techniques to get top-dollar offers.
Are you wondering how to price your home before it goes on the market? While improving the appearance of your home — sprucing up the curb appeal, decluttering, or updating lighting fixtures — are all important factors to consider with regard to attracting higher offers. There are also pricing strategies that don’t involve any physical labor.
How to Price Your Home to Attract the Highest Offers
Price your home competitively.
Setting the right price for your home is the most important decision you will make when deciding to sell. Price too high, and you risk turning off every buyer in the marketplace, price it too low, and you leave money on the table. One powerful technique for pricing your home is to let me show you comparable homes. This way, you’ll be seeing the world through a buyers’ eyes and gain a much better understanding of what a reasonable listing price looks like.
Be honest with yourself. Compared to the competition, what price would position your home as the best value proposition for buyers in your marketplace? The best listing price could be anywhere between “too high” and “too low” depending on the local market and time of year especially here in the Chandler/Phoenix market. This is when having an experienced agent who knows the market and how buyers respond comes in handy. That’s where I come in!
Use strategic price points.
A home buyer’s target price range is typically raised or stretched incrementally, and this allows for an easy way to get more out of a home offer. Just like you might be more compelled to buy a gallon of milk at the grocery store for $4.99 rather than $5.00, think about how you can get the most out of an offer at a specific price point. Similarly, if you’re listing your home at a specific price, like $227,900 dollars, you’re not going to attract the highest offer in that price range. Yes, psychology does paly its part.
Since home buyers tend to consider homes between price ranges that are separated by five to ten thousand-dollar increments, consider setting your price near one of these natural price points. For instance, a price of $229,900 would probably net you the same number of buyer inquiries as a price of $227,900 but moving your home down to $224,900 (the next price point down) would widen your potential buyer pool – inviting more opportunity!
Consider value range marketing.
Another pricing technique that may be the ticket to more showings and higher offers is to use value range marketing. Value range marketing is a pricing technique in which you choose a listing price based on what you would sell for today if a buyer wrote you a check. You then choose another lower price — one that you wouldn’t reject if offered but would use as a starting point negotiate towards some middle ground. So instead of listing your home at a specific price of $496,000 dollars, consider listing the home between $459,000 and $496,000.
Consult with me and I will guide you as each scenario is different. No 2 listings are the same. It will vary depending on the needs and timeline of the family. When you hire an experienced listing agent such as myself, all of my years of experience and behind the scenes knowledge comes with at no extra charge for you.
If you aren’t in Arizona, and considering a move into the area, please know that I have a professional Nationwide network of quality agents that I can refer you to, to help ensure your level of care on both sides of the move are in place and you will be represented with the highest protection.
Not all listing agents are created equal. An agent who knows your local market and what comparable homes have sold for recently, will know your home’s potential. Together, we will be sure to come to an agreement about a specific, documented marketing plan before signing a long-term listing agreement with your in-network agent.
Encourage two-way critiques.
Successful sellers aren’t afraid of a little (or a lot) of constructive criticism. In fact, they invite agents to give them helpful suggestions on everything, from pricing to curb appeal, to help them secure the highest possible price for their home. On the flip side, when hiring an agent, be sure to find an agent who is open to suggestions and review his or her marketing plan for your home. For instance, as a seller, you may find ways to improve advertising copy, flyers, photographs, or even virtual tours.
Offer incentives & prepaids.
A buyer who has narrowed their search down to two or three top choices may need a little push to motivate them to act. To encourage buyers, many sellers offer incentives like buying the interest rate down on the purchaser’s loan, paying for closing costs, inspections, or repairs, or providing allowances or credits for home upgrades after closing. In addition, many sellers prepay for services like internet services for a year, taxes or homeowner’s association dues, or even golf club memberships.
Use a pre-appraisal and pre-inspections.
A pre-appraisal is an appraisal of the home before a buyer has made an offer. By having this done early you will have an objective voice that has provided a value for the property independent of your own opinion and could be a great tool in talking with buyers. In addition, many sellers do pre-inspections of the home to provide buyers with a clear whole home inspection or pest and dry rot inspection. (A word of caution: anything discovered during a pre-inspection will likely need to be disclosed whether you fix the issue or not). Let me guide you about this issue carefully.
Learn to fail fast.
If something isn’t working, successful sellers have the strength to fail fast by adjusting their strategy quickly. For instance, if after implementing your marketing plan, buyers don’t begin to view your home on a regular basis, this is a clear indication that the market is rejecting your price. There is only one solution: lower your price. On the other hand, if you have a steady stream of buyers touring your listing, yet you aren’t receiving any offers, this is often a symptom of buyers rejecting, not the price, but the home itself. Something about the home is turning them off. Savvy sellers attempt to identify the problem and take proactive action to correct it.
With my representation and experience, my promise to you is that each day, your home is under a very watchful eye and my advice will be laser focused and consistent through the entire process. It only just begins once an offer comes to the table… for more on this conversation please contact me directly at: Christy Crouse | 480.332.5925 Thank you!
