Getting Ready to List?

August 29, 2011

Many homeowners have postponed listing their homes for the past year due to the economy and are waiting for the spring thaw before venturing back out into the real estate waters.  Backed by the government’s tax credit to help lure buyers, signs are pointing for positive results for well priced and well positioned listings.  Even so, it is important for sellers to be mindful of the still fragile environment in the real estate market.

Pricing and positioning are extremely important factors in selling your home, and they are among the few factors that you can control.  As a homeowner, it is often difficult to be objective when it comes to pricing your home.  Overcoming bias and the tendancy to overestimate your home’s value are the greatest challenges a homeowner faces in the process of determining an effective listing price.

Use your agent for his/her experience, sales skills, network…etc, but equally for their objectivity.  Look at the market comparables and discuss with your agent how your home measures up over a variety of criteria.  Do not just focus on the positive aspects of your home because they may be overshadowed by one or more negative attributes.  The hard part is that you may not view the negative as a negative, but the market might.

Remember that your first price is your best chance for a timely sale.  Good luck this spring.

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