I am preparing to list a house for sale and while I will consult with the listing realtor regarding comps, I have a general question about strategy.
Say the comps reveal that the market value of the house is around $290K. Do you price it at $290K, or do you price it slightly higher, like $295K or $299K so that the buyer can make a lower offer and feel like they are getting a deal?
Like every other seller, I want the highest price and the quickest sale.
Thanks!
Topaz
Well it never hurts to price it higher and negotiate lower from there.
We list our properties to sell. If our house comps at 100K, we list it at $94,900, and we sell it right now. The way the market is in our region if we were to list it higher than the comps it would sit for 6 months, and then still not sell. We’re not in this game to hold houses but to sell them. Price it right it sells today. Good luck! :beer
I don’t usually sell through MLS, but the house I sold, I had realtors calling left and right to schedule showings. Most of the calls/showings happened on weekends though. First contract happened within 5 days but fell through due to buyer backing out due to “medical expenses”, second buyer took 12 days to find and we closed a month later.
What I did is take the comps, priced mine $1k less than the high comps and offered 4.5% buyer agent commission. Now I am licensed myself, so I did not have to pay for seller agent. You could use flat fee MLS though.
Buyer agent attempted to negotiate the price down, so I agreed to work with him on the price if he agrees to take only 3% commission. He told me he would call me back, I got a call an hour later from him telling me the buyer accepted the full listing price and that we can keep his commission unchanged.
Did I mention the house had no stove or dishwasher? but otherwise, it was nicely rehabbed and looked excellent.
Agreed, a very nice and effective way of pushing your home is to give extra Realtor incentives. When I sell a home, I personally give an extra $750 or $1000 to the buyers agent. If all things being equal with 2 homes a prospective buyer is looking at, you bet the Realtor will push the one with a bonus.
To get the price I want, I usually say “Bonus with full price offer.” Thats only if the home is priced right. Price it too high and the bonus will not work.