An Open Letter to Home Sellers:
When sitting down with your agent to determine the asking price for your northern Virginia home (or any other location for that matter) or perhaps when you are first interviewing agents, please make sure your agent shows you recently sold homes (90 days or less if possible), in similar condition to justify the price point they are recommending. Please do not chose an agent based solely on the one that gives you the highest price recommendation!
Why? First we as agents do not determine the market value of a home! Our job is interpret the market and provide you, our client, with the facts so that you can make an educated decision.
I was recently previewing townhomes in a neighborhood where our team has a new listing coming on the market. One particular home had one less bedroom, older flooring, and carried a strong smoky odor throughout the entire house versus our new listing which has all new carpet, new paint, tiled kitchen floor and backsplash. This other home is on the market for close to 20% more than the current market value in this Centreville, Virginia subdivision! So unfortunately it will continue to sit and not receive an offer. The owners may blame the economy or some other outside force when all along the price tag is too high. Perhaps I should be grateful because our listing will stand out in every way when compared to this current listing. Yes, it will help us sell our listing, but I feel badly for these sellers who continue to have a home languish on the market.
The best way to not find yourself in this situation is to
#1-view comparable SOLD homes in similar condition SOLD in the last 90 days before setting an asking price
#2-not be swayed by emotion or the highest price offer without documentation to back it up
We would be happy to answer any further questions you have about selling your home in northern Virginia!
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