Selling or Playing the Lottery?

I have written before about how pitfalls, like emotional issues to avoid when pricing your home to sell. Today I want to give you a concrete example about pricing a home.

I just finished getting a contract approved on a home that was on the market less than two weeks.

First the negative details about the home?

It was not in good showing condition. A good friend helped the owner get the kitchen and adjoining family room organized and items off the wall and fireplace mantel. However the windows were very dirty, the walls had not been cleaned, much less painted. The dining room had about 20 boxes of books stacked in the middle and the living room had empty boxes and excercise equipment. Two of the three bedrooms were looked as if a small tornado had visited.

So how in the world did this home sell? The price was right and we did everything possible to accentuate the positve.

What was the positve that we accentuated?

When opening the front door a new hardwood foyer leads into the kitchen which has a new slate floor. The hot water heater leaked into the kiitchen a year ago, hence the new floors. In the comments to the agents I suggested they lead their clients directly into the kitchen bypassing the cluttered living room with excersize equipment. That first impression is SO important. Show them the house. You can't hide the messes but make sure they see the best first.

Another positive that I featured was the lot the house sits on. It is a very large lot that backs up to a farm and the home sits on a crest of a small hill. My photos featured the lot and the farmland behind the home.

I am amazed how often I see homes that have only a few photos. When I see that my first thought is that must be an awful home. It must be bad inside and even worse outside. Yet, when I have shown those homes I can always see things that could be accentuated to help the home sell.

How did the home get priced?

I searched for all the properties within the development that had sold in the past three months. This is exactly what the appraiser will do. Only two homes had sold but there were nine on the market within a quarter of a mile. The average home that had not sold was priced at over 90 dollars a square foot. The average time on the market was over 180 days. The two homes that sold were priced at 68 dollars a square foot and 71 dollars a square foot. They sold within 81 and six days. I had previewed the 68 dollar per square foot home before it sold. It was very clean, vacant and in good condition. The lot was not as large as my home and the location was not on a hill overlooking the farm.

I research the facts present them to the owner and let them set the price. I showed the owner the facts about the two sets of homes and asked him to set the price so that it would sell. He set the price at 75 dollars a square foot and it sold at 98 percent of the asking price in less than two weeks. This is not an isolated case. I just closed on one of my own propereties that sold at 96 percent of the asking price in 20 days.

Here in Lexington if the homes are priced to sell, and they are marketed by a professional realtor they will sell quickly. I had a lady call me and asked why her home had not sold. After asking her several questions it seemed as if the realtor was doing a good job of maketing the home. So it is no secret why the home is not selling. The Price is Too High! It seems to me the majority of owners are hoping to "win the lottery" when they sell their homes. I have never purchased a lottery ticket and I don't plan on doing so any time soon. So if you are a realist and you sincerely want to sell your home I can help you get that done.