How to price your home to sell.

Pricing your home for sale can be difficult as it’s not an emotionless task. This is your home, a place that you relax with your family and friends and you are tied to it. But for one reason or another you are selling. And the reasons themselves can cause heightened emotions too. We at Clark Brothers Ray White Nundah call this the 4 D’s of selling your home.

Da-vorce,

Da-kids (baby boom or empty nest – time to upsize or downsize),

Da-coast (selling to buy the new dream),

And Da- bank

All these D’s will cause stress and emotions to run high so it is imperative to consider this when you make the decision to offer your property to the market.

It can be easy to wake up in the morning and agree with yourself that you own the best house in the best street in the best suburb in the area.

With your ties to your home it can be even easier to think that the home just up the road which has 2 more bedrooms, has recently been renovated and sits on a much larger block of land is worth less than yours.

So how do you control these thoughts and emotional ties that might often slow down the selling process to the point where frustration becomes too much to bear and you end up selling for much less than you originally thought?

How do you price your home realistically so that it will sell and you receive a great result?

We have some simple steps to follow:

1.       Ask yourself, what will I be able to do (or not do) with (or without) the money?

a.       If I don’t sell can I survive without the money received from the sale?

b.      Can I still buy my dream home?

c.       Is there enough room here for us… and the kids, for as long as necessary?

d.      Will the bank take the property from me and sell it for what they are owed (or even less)?

Once you start to think this way you will start to think about the future and this is where you need to be. A good agent will discuss your motivations for selling and also agree a timeline.

The most important point here is that you must have direction and a target to hit.

2.      Think like a buyer and NOT like a seller

Your home is full of memories and these memories are yours. This “sentimental value” is not for sale. Are you prepared to pay more for a home when the agent tells you many great moments have been treasured there? No. If you’re thinking like a buyer then these memories mean nothing to you. Prepare to be rational.

3.      Comparable Sales and other Homes for sale.

This is the Big one.

The amount of times we at Clark Brothers Ray White Nundah have heard an owner say to us that their house is better than any other property in the area is enormous.

But honestly how can it be that a 2 bedroom, post war home in Nundah is worth more than a 4 bedroom, renovated Queenslander on top of the hill at Wavell Heights facing south with city views?

Price Finder, RP Data, OntheHouse.com, realestate.com.au are all websites specifically designed to assist people in the real estate market.

From these websites you are able to view properties that have sold in your area and what they have sold for. But when making comparisons, make sure that you look at homes that are similar to your own.

Attend as many Open Homes as you possibly can in your immediate and surrounding areas. Again, try to view properties that have similar features to yours. Whilst at the open home ask the following questions of the agent.

1.      I have $750,000?? (or whatever amount) to spend, do you think this property  will sell for that price

2.      Have you sold any other similar properties in the area and if so what price did you achieve?

3.      The listed price for this home seems high. Are there any other features that would justify this asking price?

4.      This house has 3 bedrooms and mine has 4. Will this make a huge difference in price?

5.      Do you have many people coming to your open homes of late?

All these questions are directing you to a value for your home.

The agent will give you lots of information that can be used as part of your ‘pricing your home to sell’ strategy.

4.      Know your competition on Realestate.com.au

One of the greatest tools to support your pricing strategy is to learn what has recently sold in your area – visit http://www.realestate.com.au/sold.

The other tool from realestate.com.au is to look at what is For Sale in your area. Don’t forget the golden rule. The For Sale prices are ASKING prices NOT selling prices. http://www.realestate.com.au/buy

Print out a list of the Sold properties, jump in the car and drive past. This will give you a great idea of what is selling and for how much. After this exercise do the same for the properties for sale. You may well be surprised at what some owners are asking now that you know what the similar properties are selling for.

5.      Forget the emotion but not the negotiation

When you meet with your agent and you have gathered market intelligence you will have the “right” to have an open and honest discussion on what you think your property is worth.

One of the toughest parts of being a real estate agent is to advise an owner that their dream price could be unachievable.

Meeting with an agent as an informed owner who is realistic will soon have you on your way to your future.

6.      A Big Hint

There is a For Sale Sign and advertisement of your home on realestate.com.au so this is a hint for buyers.

One for you as seller, is that your buyer will most likely know the value of your home better than you or in some cases even your real estate agent. The reason for this is that buyers these days have as much access to real estate information as you do, and by the time they come across your property they have probably inspected at least 50 to 75 other homes.

If your buyers see your property with a $1,000,000 price tag and they know the similar house around the corner is on the market for $900,000 then your chances of selling become remote.

In conclusion your property is worth what a buyer is willing to pay and a buyer will not pay for your dream. Start at a price which allows for negotiation. This may be 15 to 20% above the market value. As we say at Clark Brothers Ray White Nundah; you can only negotiate down, not up. Take a read of our tips for a successful negotiation:

http://raywhitenundah.com.au/news/10-techniques-for-a-successful-real-estate-negotiation/

We all want the best price for our biggest asset and we all have emotions that can dictate a positive or negative result.

Leave your emotions out and keep your negotiations close to your chest.

Need help?  Please call us.

Clark Brothers Ray White Nundah

Serving Your Community

raywhitenundah.com.au

+61 7 3266 2055