Pricing It Right--Objectivity is Crucial
With an incredible supply of homes for sale in today's Buyer's Market, it is crucial to position your home to sell in the shortest amount of time possible, bringing the best price possible. Begin by looking at your home through the eyes of a potential buyer.
There are five basic factors that ultimately determine whether a home is going to sell, or simply be one of many homes on the market with very few showings and no offers:
Buyers have many choices in today’s market. In order for a seller to maximize the selling price of a home, the home must be “Showroom Ready” and priced right! PRICE is determined by: CONDITION, LOCATION, SIZE, and FEATURES. A home that can rate a score of 10 in CONDITION, LOCATION, SIZE, and FEATURES can be more aggressively priced compared to a home that is deficient in any of the categories.
A seller CAN control CONDITION, FEATURES, and PRICE. LOCATION and SIZE are not features that a seller can control. So, let me show you how being objective in your VALUE rating... There are currently 25,657 condos, townhomes and single family homes on the market, and over the past three months only 5,176 homes have sold. To add your home to the 5,176 homes that have sold in the last three months, your home must be Valued as a 10 in: CONDITION, LOCATION, SIZE, FEATURES, and that will allow a 10 in PRICE. If your home is not rated a 10 in all these categories, then your PRICE will need to be adjusted for these deficiencies--again, remember location and size cannot be controlled so, adjust accordingly.
The Pond - Where is YOUR home in the pond?
The flow of sales activity in any real estate market is comprised of three categories of the homes that are currently on the market:
1. Homes that FLOW. Homes that are considered to be the best Value and Price flow into the market, leave the market SOLD in less than 45 days. 2. Homes that SHOW. Homes that are deficient in Value and/or Price may be shown, but they are not receiving any offers. Adjustments must be made in the areas that you DO have control - PRICE, Condition or Features in order to get the listing sold. Ask yourself where you want to position your house in this competitive Buyer’s market. Remember, any deficiency in the five categories of: CONDITION, LOCATION, SIZE, FEATURES or PRICE will remove your listing from the “Flow” of the market and place it in the “Show but no offer” category or worst yet, in the “Stagnant Mass” with no showings.
Here's a recent Market Absorption Trend which is another evaluation tool to use when listing your property: If positioned properly, your home will “Flow” right off the market! It will attract a buyer.
3. Homes that become the STAGNANT MASS. Homes that are greatly deficient in both Value and Price do not even attract showings. There is virtually no activity, and these listings will simply never sell. 
The Pond graphic courtesy of Zan Monroe, CRS Senior Instructor and NINJA coach: www.ZanMonroe.com
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