Why you should price your Charlotte home correctly - right from the start!
I recently read a very astute blog post from J. Philip Faranda, broker and owner of J. Philip Real Estate in Briarcliff Manor, NY. He produced very compelling statistics from his MLS confirming that sellers receive less of their asking price the longer their home sits on the market. Phil's statistics show that in most cases, those sellers who priced their homes correctly from the start sold their homes quicker, and for more money!
Hmmmmm....
Phil's blog post confirmed what we Charlotte Realtors see everyday in our local real estate market - sellers who price their home correctly from the start get MORE of their asking price than sellers whose homes languish on the market for months on end (because of over-pricing!)
A good analogy is the sales rack of your favorite department store. Clothes have been marked down
drastically, sometimes to the point where you wonder how the manufacturer/store can make any money at all. Granted, the clothes are a little shop worn, but you can usually find a steal if you are patient! I just bought a great new designer dress that was originally priced at $108 for an incredible price of $12.99! At $108, I didn't think the dress was worth it, but at the severely discounted $12.99, I couldn't pull out my debit card fast enough! If the dress had just started out at, say, $59, I probably would have bought it, but the store lost $95.01 on this sale!
The same is true in the Charlotte real estate market. A seller who refuses to price his Charlotte home to sell close to market value because he "just doesn't want to give it away," or "wants to leave lots of negotiating room," or just wants to "test the market," is going to be sorely disappointed. In most cases, his home will generate few or no showings and ZERO offers. He reduces the price...again, and again, and again. After 4+ months of being on the market, he gets a low-ball offer and nets far less in the sale than if he had priced it more reasonably in the first place.
Data from the Charlotte Multiple Listing Service support this conclusion. Look at the chart below from Providence Plantation Homes for Sale in the last 6 months:
Providence Plantation homes that sold in 0 - 30 days received an average of 102% of their asking price! Conversely, Providence Plantation homes that sat on the market for 4 months and beyond only got 94% of asking price (and this data doesn't even count price reductions!)
To put this in perspective, consider this example: The average sales price of Providence Plantation homes for sale in the last 6 months is $417,000. An informed seller who lists his home at $417,000 may end up with MORE than his asking price...at 102%, his sales price would be $425,000! Another seller who ignores his listing agent's market data, may list his home at $450,000 - to try to get a little more! But today's savvy buyer KNOWS that this home is overpriced, and will bypass it. Over the span of 6 months, this overpriced seller reduces his price 4 times, finally lowering to $420,000 (close to his Realtors original price suggestion). Meanwhile, the market has declined. The seller finally gets a low-ball offer and ends up with a $394,000 sales price, or just 94% of his asking price. That's a LOSS of $31,000!
This is a compelling reason why you should price your Charlotte home correctly - right from the start! Do you want your home to be like Saks Fifth Avenue, or more like Belk or Target? How about your local thrift shop? Pay attention to your listing agent's market statistics and position your home correctly in the marketplace - the numbers don't lie!
For more helpful tips on selling your Charlotte home, check out my my blog series at the links below:
List Your Charlotte Home to SELL...not SIT! Overview Part I
List Your Charlotte Home to SELL...not SIT! Part II "Pricing it Right!"
List Your Charlotte Home to SELL...not SIT! Part III "Staging!"
List Your Charlotte Home to SELL...not SIT! Part IV "Let it Show!"
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