How to Sell your Home in Maple Leaf - One Suggestion

I recently posted a little powerpoint on my website (ABODEN.com) about this, but I thought I might go into a little more detail.

My latest research shows that the Maple Leaf neighborhood in North Seattle is fairing better in the housing market than some other areas.

Check out the diagrams and I'll explain:

• Long story short - over half the homes in Maple Leaf are selling in 30 days or less (orange area).

Here's another diagram showing how much homes actually sold for compared to how much they listed for:

• Long story short - Homes that sold in less than 30 days went for over 99% of their listed price (again, orange bar on right graph).
• After 30 days, though, sellers took a much bigger hit on the price (all other bars).

Here's my opinion on these stats:

Example: Seller A and Seller B have the exact same home for sale on the same street. Everything is the same except Seller A priced their home at $400,000 and Seller B priced their home at $412,000 (which was the top of the pricing scale their Realtor gave them).

Who's house will stay on the market longer? Seller B, right? Yep.

Seller A is part of that "30 days or less" category in the diagram. Seller B is part of the "more than 30 days" group.

Seller B, after 30 days has gone by, has to reduce the price of their home to be competitive.

What price do they reduce to? Seller A's price. Why? Because that price got the home sold while Seller B's home is still on the market collecting dust.

So Seller B reduces their price to $400,000 and their home gets sold for $395,000. All together, Seller B had to wait 3 months before their home sold because they didn't price it right to begin with. They were too greedy.

So, how much did it cost them to overprice their home? Let's take a look:

$412,000 (original price for Seller B)

- 12,000 (perceived loss. They didn't really lose this amount because it wouldn't have sold at this price)

- $6,000 (3 months of mortgage payments while the home was on the market)

- $5,000 (buyers took advantage of seller's desperation. Wouldn't offer more than $395k)

- $1,500 (cost for 3 months of professional home staging)

Total Loss (perceived and otherwise) = $24,500.00

Total Actual Loss = $12,500.00

Ultimately, Seller B sold their home for about 4% less of their original price. This is also what's indicated on the diagram. Homes taking longer than 30 days to sell are selling at around 2 -4% less.

How can you avoid this frustration as a home seller? Here's my advice:

If you know that the housing market in Seattle is on a mild downward turn, don't price your home at the current market price!

Price your home just ahead of the downward curve! You'll sell your home in 30 days or less and avoid the losses accumulated by Seller B.

This is only one aspect of selling your home quickly and making the most of your time and money. If you need more help with selling your home in North Seattle, let's talk.

- Jay Silver