Questions for the Potential Seller in the Greater Waterbury CT Area: What Price Should I List My Home At?
If you are a potential seller in the Greater Waterbury, CT area (that would be Waterbury and the surrounding towns of Watertown, Plymouth, Wolcott, Prospect, Naugatuck, Middlebury and Southbury), then the question of what price should I list my home at is possibly the most important question that you can ask yourself before you actually put your home on the market.
The question of what price should I list my home at is one that your Realtor will provide you with the necessary information so that you can answer that question correctly.
Correctly? What do you mean by “correctly”?
As a potential seller, you need to understand several things:
§ There is a correct price at which to list your home for sale.
§ That price is determined by the current real estate market and is shown to you by means of what is commonly known as a market analysis, or a comparative market analysis.
§ The market analysis takes into account the location of your home, type of house, size, number of bedrooms, condition, and other pertinent features of your home and compares them to similar homes like yours in your area that have been sold within a specific timeframe(usually within the last 6 months).
§ The price (or price range) which the market analysis suggests is the result of adjusting the prices of the homes that have been sold that are like yours either up or down, depending on the specific differences in features, and the length of time between the sale date and the analysis date.
§ The market analysis may also show similar houses like yours in your area which are currently on the market as a means to help you price your home competitively.
The correct price at which to list your home, which is the answer to the question “what price should I list my home at”, is the price at which your home will sell, all other factors being equal.
If your expectations of the price are too high, then do not list your home at the price you want. The statistics for the Greater Waterbury, CT area show that houses that are overpriced do not sell. They sit on the market for months, and months…change listing agents…and still sit for months, and months. That’s because the house was not priced correctly.
If the price at which the home will sell is economically unsound for your financial situation, then do not list your home. Period. If the price suggested by the analysis does not allow you to pay off your existing mortgage, and pay the necessary taxes and fees without putting you into debt (unless you are in a short sale situation), then it would be in your best interests to wait until such time comes that you will be able to sell the house and walk away with a clean slate, or better yet, a small profit.
The price at which you list your home should not be based on what you expect to net from the sale of your home. You, as the potential seller, should calculate your net proceeds from the sale price after taking into consideration
1. Taxes. In Connecticut, all real estate transactions are subject to
- a state conveyance tax of .5% of the first $800,000 of the selling price; the amount above that is taxed at 1%
-a municipal conveyance tax of .11% of the total selling price. That tax rate applies to all of the Greater Waterbury, CT area towns (Watertown, Plymouth, Wolcott, Prospect, Naugatuck, Middlebury, and Southbury; for Waterbury, the municipal conveyance tax is .25% until the legislation that extended it expires and is not renewed, at which point it will revert back to .11%)
2. Professional Representation Fee. Commonly known as the commission, this amount is also a percentage of the selling price and is determined by you and your Realtor at the time that you list your home. The percentages can vary depending on location and price, and there is no set percentage (by law). Be aware that choosing a lower commission does not necessarily mean that you will net more, and ask what type of service are you getting for every percentage point you are given. Also, keep in mind that usually, the commission is split between the listing broker and the cooperating (buyer’s) broker.
The bottom line for you as a potential seller in deciding the price at which you will list your home is that you must price your home to be sold – not to attract lookers, but to attract buyers who will actually put an offer on your home. Trust the Realtor of your choice to give you guidance on what that price should be to ensure the outcome that you desire.
There are some things that can affect the buyer’s perception of the price that you have chosen. The market has provided you with the price, but you as the potential seller must prepare your home for sale in such a way that it reflects that price.
Next in the Questions for the Potential Seller in the Greater Waterbury, CT Area Series: How can I prepare my home to be sold?
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