I just listed a house in Omaha Saturday and it sold this week!  Pretty incredible considering the horror stories you have been hearing in the news.  The reason I think we were so successful is PRICING.  I viewed the home and made a few staging suggestions for the homeowner which she implemented, but the most important step was looking at the current market and making an informed decision on how to price the property to sell it. 

There is a tendency, especially in today’s market, to say “Let’s price it here and we can always come down”.  Not necessarily so.  Did you know that buyers tend to look at homes in $5,000 price increments?  So, if you price your home at $154,500 and it’s really a $145,000 house, you are getting entirely the wrong group of people in the home to look.  Your home will be compared to other homes ranging from $149,500 to $159,500 and most likely won’t stack up against the competition well.  Generally, buyers will not embarrass you by making what they consider to be a low ball offer.  You miss out on getting the right buyers into your home during the most important marketing time…the first 2-3 weeks from listing.  When you finally make the decision to reduce the price, many buyers will have already found another home and your home will look “worn” because of the days on market.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to price right.  Then, when you receive an offer, consider it carefully as your best offer is generally the first offer you receive.  Not necessarily the price being offered, but the most motivated buyer, so you should negotiate this offer with great care.  We all have a number in our heads that we think is right for our home…remember it’s just a house to the buyer!  When considering offers, consider the time factors, cost of staying in the home and the inconvenience of not being able to move on to where you want to be.  Is is worth $1,000-2,000 ?  Buying and selling a home is an emotional process, but I encourage you to try to step back and make the best business decision you can make.  That’s why I am here….to provide you with a nuetral opinion and help you keep perspective as you go through the process.

Tags: Council Bluffs Home Sales Market, Housing Market Trends, Iowa Homes, Omaha/Council Bluffs Residential Real Estate Consulting, Southwest Iowa Home Sales Market

Posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 3:22 pm and is filed under Buy a House, First Time Home Buyers, Homes, Homes for Sale, Housing Market, Questions and Answers, Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.