Price your Los Angeles home to sell. Use the Facts. And by pricing it to sell I mean to sell for the best price possible – even in a sellers’ market.
Emotions need to be taken out of the decision-making process and it should be based on facts, because this is how a buyer is going to determine what they are going to pay. Using the facts will allow you to put together a price that a reasonable buyer will find fair.
As a seller you are probably going to have a figure in mind no matter the market, and that figure may not be realistic, and by that I mean on the high side. Most sellers are not going to be able to be subjective enough to compare their own property with others that recently sold in the same neighborhood. They will see a price they like and think that is what they can get for their own home. They may also look at homes currently on the market, their competition, and try and match or beat those prices.
So let’s take a look at how you would get to a price that will net you the seller the most. For the purposes of this your home is referred to as the “subject property” and the sold homes as “comps”.
- Currently listed homes may not necessarily reflect the market. One would hope that those sellers consulted with their real estate agents to come up with the right price, but you cannot be sure, and in any event you would need to compare each home against your own.
- Comps that you are looking at would need to be as similar to your home as possible:
- Same or similar square footage both for the home, and the lot if a single family house.
- Same or similar condition. Were the comps upgraded, and if so how much and when? Is the subject property upgraded or original condition? If upgraded how much and when? Major upgrade costs like bathrooms and kitchens can be estimated and taken into account.
- What school district is a particular comp in? In Los Angeles two homes across the street from each other, or even next door, may fall into different districts. That can make a big difference depending on the school.
- The comps need to be homes that have sold recently, hopefully within the past three months, and they need to be as close as possible to the subject property. But if there are no such comps you may have to get creative by stretching out the area or going back a little further in time. With this approach adjustments will have to be made.
- How much competition do you have? As mentioned above you would have to compare your home with those on the market to see how yours stands up.
- If your home is indeed original and you know it is going to need work then your pricing needs to reflect that.
If you hit the sweet spot on pricing you are going to induce multiple offers, and you will end up getting over asking and maybe more that you anticipated. When you are selling your home you want to feel that you are letting it go for its worth, not what you feel it is worth but what it is actually worth. And who ultimately determines that worth, the buyer.
You cannot force the buyer to pay more for a home than they can justify even in a sellers’ market. So armed with all the information you can come up with a price that will make both sides happy. When pricing your Los Angeles home to sell using the facts wisely will serve you well.
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