Overpricing a home can have many ramifications for a home seller. It can limit the number of potential buyers who can afford your home, reduce showings and create an impression in the marketplace that the homeowners are not serious about selling their home. Serious homeowners who overprice their home often get caught in the trap of price reduction after price reduction trying to catch up to the market.
During the past year, U.S. home sellers slashed more than $24 billion according to Trulia.com. Trulia’s Q1 Home Offer Report indicated that on average, most sellers will reduce their list price after 79 days on the market, choosing to cut their original list price by 8 percent. Following a first reduction, 35 percent of these sellers will make a second.
Most home buyers look at 10-15 homes before making a buying decision. Because of this, setting a competitive price relative to the competition is an essential component to a successful marketing strategy. Under pricing a home isn’t good either- educating your clients about the importance of properly pricing a home is key to the home sales process.
Most experts would advise that the best way to increase your odds of a successful sale is to price your home at fair market value. But, as logical as this advice sounds, for many sellers it is still tempting to tack a few percentage points onto the price to "leave room to negotiate". To avoid this temptation, below are seven common problems associated with overpricing your home:
1. Appraisal Problems
Even if you do find a buyer willing to pay an inflated price, the fact is over 90% of buyers use some kind of financing to pay for their home purchase. If your home won't appraise for the purchase price the sale will likely fail.
2. No Showings
Today's sophisticated home buyers are well educated about the real estate market. If your home is overpriced they won't bother looking at it, let alone make you an offer.
3. Branding Problems
When a new listing hits the market, every agent quickly checks the property out to see if it's a good fit for their clients. If your home is branded as "overpriced", reigniting interest may take drastic measures.
4. Selling the Competition
Overpricing helps your competition. How? You make their lower prices seem like bargains. Nothing is worse than watching your neighbors put up a sold sign.
5. Stagnation
The longer your home sits on the market, the more likely it is to become stigmatized or stale. Have you ever seen a property that seems to be perpetually for sale? Do you ever wonder - What's wrong with that house?
6. Tougher Negotiations
Buyers who do view your home may negotiate harder because the home has been on the market for a longer period of time and because it is overpriced compared to the competition.
7. Lost Opportunities
You will lose a percentage of buyers who are outside of your price point. These are buyers who are looking in the price range that the home will eventually sell for but don't see the home because the price is above their pre-set budget.
Most buyers look at 10-15 homes before making a buying decision. Because of this, setting a competitive price relative to the competition is an essential component to a successful marketing strategy.
Most agents offer a complimentary CMA(Competitive Market Analysis) of your home. Interview several before deciding who to list with.
