First Blog Post - All opinions are welcome. Written by Local Lender
Years ago, I made up the following table to educate Sellers on some facts regarding the sales price of their homes. As you see "Location" is only listed once. Beyond this simple table are some of the current day facts.
Items that Affect the Sales Price of your Home | |
Affect Sales Price | Do Not Affect Sales Price |
How much the buyer is willing to pay | How much cash you need to complete another purchase |
For many years if you asked any Realtor what the three keys to the sale of any property, you would receive the "Location, Location, Location" reply. This reply is somewhat true when we are in a "Sellers Market" and when there is a greater demand for homes in a given location than the supply of homes available for sale. In my opinion, Today's we are in a "Buyers Market" where there is an excess of homes on the market and a lower demand for those homes.
What then are the keys to selling a home in today's "Buyers Market"? The items that come to mind are comfort, condition and curb appeal. These three are measured against your "Competition". Let's examine each of these keys in today's market. Because of the number of homes on the market a property needs
"Curb Appeal" is important because a potential buyer is likely to drive right past your property to look at another home if they see things that negatively detract from the sight of the property in comparison to other properties in the neighborhood.
"Condition" comes into play when you succeed in getting a prospective buyer to come inside and look around. The buyer will be looking at the level of updating that has been done as well as costs they see attributable to repairing, replacing and updating the home to their needs.
"Comfort" is how the prospective buyer sees themselves living in the home based upon their lifestyle. This is the reason Realtors try to show homes that are uncluttered, well lit and absent of the current owners lives. A prospective buyer needs to imagine themselves living in your home. If you can achieve this then you are now ready to approach the final key to the successful sale of your home.
The above keys are measured against your "Competition". If the prospective buyer can imagine themselves living in your home and others, then a comparison begins. The buyer will look for the best value and comfort for their money. They will look at your Price in comparison to other homes as well as the cost to remodel, repair and update the home to their expectations and desires. Sellers commonly overlook the buyer's expectations and desires in a home because the seller has lived in the home and it is HOME to them.
On my OhioBuyersAndSellers.com website there are a number of links for sellers to review that could improve the marketability and sales price of your home. Please visit it for those tips.
Also, I have a deep respect and admiration for the Realtors that represent buyers in transactions because they are the ones selling homes. We have seen a great number of Sellers Agents, offering deep discounts in their commissions in order to get the listings. Some of these Listers are very good; however some do not provide the level of service Sellers expect. Maybe it is the old adage that you "GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR". Along that line let me approach "For Sale By Owner's". I do believe the key to the best price is a matter of the maximum exposure of the home to potential buyers. Because Realtors are the primary Sellers of homes and use one it is well worth your investment.
This article is the opinion of the writer and you are free to disagree, discuss and consider the validity of my opinions. As you do consider your thoughts, let me share the experiences of a friend of the family. Over the past 18 months they have had their home for sale and have had the home listed with five different Realtors. The home is still on the market. Do you think they have chosen bad Realtors or do you think it is something else that is preventing the sale of the home?
