Price Your Home Right

The Money You Save May Be Your Own!
A home in my neighborhood has been on the market for over a year. It is centrally located, on a very large lot for city size, and has an older home that is in decent condition. The sellers had no mortgage on the property, having paid off their 30-year note in 1993.

When they first put it on the market, it was overpriced by about $25-$30,000, and no interest was shown in it by any prospects. 6 months later, the market having gone down, they reduced the price by $25,000. Now they were only overpriced by $10-$15,000 (given the downturn in the market).

To make a long story short, about 14 months after originally listing the property, they did finally sell it--for $72,000 less than original asking price! Had they priced it right the first time, it probably would have sold within a few months, at a better price--and not had to live in a home on the market for over a year!

To try to get the best financial return on selling a home, it must be priced within what the market is doing right now. Price it too high in a Buyer's Market, and nobody will even want to see it, much less put in an offer--there are too many other properties competing for buyers. In this case, the seller probably lost $20-$30,000 by not pricing it at an attractive level when he first put it up for sale. Having to deal with living in a home, ready for it to show at any moment, for an extended period of time is irritating. It isn't impossible, but not much fun either.
The point I'm trying to get across is this: if you want your home to sell, price it to move. It will sell quicker (probably for more money), and with less stress. Makes for a good combination, doesn't it?