Due to a change in real estate market conditions,
there are a lot more sellers in comparison to buyers.
Therefore, it seems like it’s about time to challenge
the common myths of real
estate.
The asking price of a property isn’t that important
as it can always be lowered later.
Even though many home owners seem to believe this it is
not true! If most buyers first viewed your house because
of a newspaper ad, a magazine, the internet, brochures,
or the sign in your front yard, the initial asking price
probably would not make a difference. The house would
always be "new" to those seeing it.
Most buyers do not come to your house due to various
types of advertising. This is also not true! Of course,
buyers call and investigate
properties on an advertisement; they often LOOK at
that house, but not always. Once they talk to an agent,
they may discover it isn't what they need or want at all.
They are talking to an agent who knows the current market
and will know of other property that does fit their needs.
Those are the properties
that buyers look at, and this is how most buyers end
up looking at your house, too. It’s because of other
agents, not because of your advertising. It is very uncommon
for someone to buy a house they saw in an advertisement.
As a result, you need to get other agents interested in
your property, and this is where your listing agent comes
into play and why a good listing agent is extremely important.
The listing agent gets buyer's agents interested and looking
at your home. Those agents have clients who called in
on other properties.
Buyer's agents are not influenced by advertising. They
look at the needs of the client, where the client wants
to live, location, condition, and other details of the
property, not to forget most importantly price.
If your house is overpriced, agents are going to show
similar homes that are priced more accordingly and are
in their client’s best interests. Your listing will
get overlooked. Agents pay considerably more attention
to homes newly on the market. There are fewer new listings
than current listings. It is easier to keep an eye out
for what is new, compared to the extreme number of current
listings.
New listings are on the "hot" sheet circulated
in real estate offices. The MLS computer identifies new
listings. Your listing agent may hire a service to distribute
fliers to all the buyer's agents. There are office previews
and MLS tours to showcase new listings. A lot of attention
is focused on what is new as opposed to what has been
on the market for a number of months.
With agents looking at newly
listed homes so assertively, a properly priced home
gets attention. An overpriced home goes to the back of
the file. Even if you are thinking to yourself that you’re
willing to negotiate it probably won’t matter. Buyers
aren't thinking in advance about how much you are willing
to negotiate. They are comparing your asking price to
other asking prices. Plus, when your house is new on the
market, you may not be willing to negotiate as much as
you will later, once you've realized your error. Keep
in mind that statistics show, quite often, the first offer
is the best offer.
A price reduction later in the listing cycle often gets
overlooked. It is just one of many listings, not one of
a few new listings. As time passes, you could actually
become desperate to sell because you've accepted a new
job or because you have already bought a new home. That
is a recipe for disaster, so you could end
up selling for less than you would have, had the house
been priced a little lower in the first place.
Agents are aware of this, however, many sellers still
mistakenly believe they should "price it high"
because they can lower the price later, if need be. That
is not the best strategy, and will not benefit you in
any way in the short or long run.
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