Pricing Your Home Right is Essential

Setting the sales price for your home is the most important factor to get it sold quickly and at a price you’re happy with. Why is it so important?

• A high price can turn people away. Pricing doesn't just influence how much money you’ll make off the sale of your property, it also dictates whether buyers will even take the time to look at your home. Price your home too high and it could sit on the market for months until you lower your asking price. Identify your home's true value in today’s market, and set the price slightly under that price if you want to sell your home as quickly as possible.
• Your home’s appeal drastically decreases after the first two to three weeks of showings. The amount of traffic that a listing gets in its first week is five to seven times higher than it gets in the following weeks. Buyers are wary of a home that’s been on the market for a long time. They suspect that something’s wrong with it.
• Buyers shop by price brackets. If your home is priced $5,000 dollars too high or too low, it can move your home into a different price bracket and exclude an entire set of potential buyers from even seeing that your home is for sale. Being in the wrong price bracket can reduce traffic to your listing by as much as seven percent. An experienced agent will know the best price bracket for your home.
• There’s a lot of competition. With so many homes for sale, yours has to stand out as a good value immediately or buyers will move on.
• Dropping your sales price can be the kiss of death. If you need to lower your price, make it a reduction that counts. Small reductions give buyers the idea that you might drop it again a month from now. Buyers will realize you've dropped the price. Many real estate sites show how many times a price has been reduced and by how much.

Liz Boucher is the Branch Manager of the Coldwell Banker Larchmont office which specializes in both residential and commercial real estate. Liz has been in real estate sales since 1998. She is an associate broker and has been managing the Coldwell Banker office since 2006. You can contact her at 914-834-7100 or at liz.boucher@cbmoves.com