Have you thought about selling your home and are finding it difficult coming up with a for sale price? Perhaps you may be thinking that you may make a mistake of listing the home lower than what it’s worth and leave money on the table.
A lot of homeowners in today’s real estate environment has had the same challenges in coming up with the correct pricing of their home. Because of the market shift and upcoming holidays those who are not prepared are seeing their homes on the market longer and not selling.
There are two types of sellers.
- Price Motivated Sellers – They want to only sell if they get a certain price. From my experience the price these sellers want is always higher than what buyers will pay for their home. They have a place in mind to move to, but it’s not that urgent.
- Situation Motivated Sellers – They have to sell because of a possible life changing events and it would be great if they could get the highest price for their home. They are flexible and if needed they could also rent out their home if it doesn’t sell but they prefer not to.
If you are the situationally motivated seller than this information will greatly help you to price your home correctly. Increasing your chances in getting your home sold quicker than that of other similar homes in the area and for a higher price.
Because of the market adjusting and because we’re rolling into the holidays, determining a listing price can become a lot more difficult. Basically what we’re seeing is prices adjusting lower than it was at the beginning of the year. And it varies depending on the neighborhood and location. On the average for the city of San Jose overall you’re seeing an estimated 10% downward price adjustment from May to Oct of this year. And with Holidays that will have an effect on how you price your home correctly.
The key things to keep in mind when pricing your home in today’s current market is:
- Look for similar homes in the area that sold within the last month then see how much they sold for and how long it took to sell.
- By looking at similar homes that sold within the last month this will give you a true indicator of the current market in your area. If you choose to look at homes that sold 6 or more months ago your looking at a different market and that’s going to give you the incorrect price information.
- To find similar sold homes for your area you can use on-line real estate sources such as Realtor.com, Zillow.com, and other real estate sits can help find the information. If you’re in the San Jose , Silicon Valley area feel free to use Real Scout.
- What is the current traffic of buyers and interest level from buyers in the area?
- This information will help to determine how aggressive you have to be when pricing your home. For example… if you get a feel that the traffic is low and the interest level is low in the area then naturally to gain more traffic and interest you’ll have to aggressively price your home better than other homes for sale in the neighborhood.
- Some of the ways to get this information is by visiting openhouses in the area to see the traffic coming in and also have a conversation with the agent there and ask what the foot traffic and interest level is like for the area.
- What are the current homes that are for sale priced at and how long have they been on the market?
- Seeking out this information will help validate the sale price you have in mind. In your area if you see a similar home and it’s priced in the range you were thinking of selling, but it has been on the market for many weeks and not sold then that tells you the market for that price range is not selling and has already been tested. So logically you’ll have to adjust the price to match the current market and buyer expectations.
- Using on-line real estate resources such as Realtor.com, Zillow.com, and other real estate sits can help find the information. If you’re in the San Jose , Silicon Valley area feel free to use Real Scout.
- Any upcoming homes for sale in the area?
- Another home coming on the market the same time you were thinking of putting your home on the market to sell could lower your chances in getting the home sold quickly. If an area gets flooded with other homes for sale, then you’re dealing with competition from other homeowners also selling their homes and if they priced a lot more aggressively that can draw buyers away from your home.
- To find out of any potential homes coming on the market soon, I suggest driving around the neighborhood and look for coming soon signs. Now days a lot of realtors put out these signs a couple of weeks out before putting the home on the market. Also if you happen to know of an agent who does a lot of business in the area you could call them and ask if they have any upcoming homes for sale in the area.
- What are the current interest’s rates and are there any signs of the rates going up?
- Today’s home buyers are a lot more rate sensitive because of the increase in home prices and the increase of talks that rate are going to rise. This in turn has caused some homebuyers to sit on the fence a lot longer or altogether change their mind in becoming homeowners. As a seller that could mean less demand for your home which affects how you price your home correctly.
- To get an idea on the current interest rates and the possibility of the rates rising a good source is a mortgage lender or on-line mortgage resources.
By gathering the information on the 5 key things I just mentioned It’s going to give you a good idea on the trend for the area and how you should price your home to sell.
If you are located in the in San Jose, Silicon Valley area and need help in pricing your home contact me, I’m here to help.
Marlo Ibon | Aloha Agent
408.422.3000
BRE#01834583