The number one secret for selling homes in Northern Virginia quickly and at the highest possible price is to price the property properly when it first goes on the market for sale. It's long been known that the longer a home lingers on the market, the lower price it is likely to command.
WHY?
If you can remember when you first bought your home, one of the first questions you probably asked about each home you previewed was "How long has it been on the market?" We tend to assume that if it has been on the market for quite some time there is either: A) something wrong with the home; or B) more negotiating room because the seller is getting anxious for a sale.
As a seller, you certainly don't want potential buyers for your home thinking along those lines. In order to sell quickly and for the most the market will bear, it is imperative to price the property right at the onset.
When selecting a Virginia Realtor, do not automatically select the one who tells you that he or she can "get you $645,000 for your house" when the reality is that the home is only worth $595,000. In the industry, we call this an agent "buying the listing" It is more important, in fact crucial, to select a Virginia Realtor who will be truthful about the pricing of your home and present you with hard facts of the comparable home sales and current market activity.
You might think to yourself "Oh well, we can always reduce the price in 30 days if it doesn't sell." As explained in the analysis below, this is NOT A GOOD MARKETING PLAN in Northern Virginia. And think about, your home will not look so attractive with a "Price Reduced" sign in the yard.
Price Reduction Analysis
Part I: Number of price reductions versus period of time on market
I analyzed all the sales in Alexandria, Virginia for the month of July 2007 throughout all price ranges. I divided up the sales by the number of days the home was on the market: 1) 0-30 days; 2) 31-60 days; 3) 61-90 days; 4) 91-120 days; and 5) 121 days or more.
Overall, 39% of Alexandria sales in July involved a price reduction from the original listing price. Here's a chart showing the percentage of sales with seller price reductions categorized by number of days on the market:
If the house is priced properly to sell within the first 30 days, it is unlikely that a price reduction will be necessary. Only 5 sales out of a total of 94 in Alexandria that sold in 30 days or less involved a price reduction. After a month, 44% of sales involved a price reduction. This number jumps to 74% after 2 months and at 4 months plus, 95% of Alexandria sellers had to reduce their price in order to get their home sold! Not great odds!
Part II: Final Sales Price as percentage of original asking price
The second part of my analysis of Alexandria price reductions looks at the size of the price reduction and the final sales price as a percentage of the original asking price. The following chart shows the reduced price as a percentage of the original listing price and the final sales price as a percentage of the original listing price.
Homes that sold in 30 days or less sold at 98.03% of the original asking price. Home on the market 31-60 days in Alexandria sold for 95.19% of the original asking price. Homes on the market for 61-120 days sold for around 91% of the original asking price. And when a home was on the market over 120 days, it only garnered 87.01% of the original asking price in the final sale -- representing over $80,000 less than the seller's original price.
This last result can easily be avoided by pricing a home right when first putting it up for sale.
To find out how much your Northern Virginia home is worth, please give me a call at 703-626-0715 or contact me via e-mail to discuss your situation.
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