July 29, 2021 | Selling
How To Successfully Price And Sell Your Home
You have done all the hard work and house prep. Your home is beautifully staged and all the online marketing is ready to go. Learn more about what your realtor should be doing here. Now it is time to analyze the market and finalize your strategy. Let’s dig in!
Pricing your home to sell
Pricing your home is an important skill your realtor needs to be well educated on. It is important to be in tune with what buyers are accustomed to in a particular market. If your neighbourhood typically sees homes priced low, resulting in multiple offers, you need to take an offer date strategy. This is a strategy where your home is listed for a set period of time, and all potential buyers know they will be presenting their offer to you on certain date. This strategy also allows the seller to mentally prepare for offer day, knowing what they will accept and what they are willing to negotiate. One of the benefits of this strategy is no surprises. Unless of course, a bully offer comes in. For more on that, see our blog on When A Bully Offer Can Help, And When It Can Hurt.
If buyers in your market are accustomed to an “offers anytime” situation, you need to price your home at a price that strikes the balance of not too low and not too high. This strategy could shorten your home’s time on the market, thus enabling a quick sale and less stress. As you can see, there are benefits to both strategies. A skilled realtor will be able to choose the best option to meet your goals.
Reviewing the offers
Not all offers are created equal and when it comes to how a buyer will make an offer on your house, there are basically 2 scenarios. The first and more widely used involves reviewing all offers on a specific day. If you decide on the ‘offer day strategy’, all interested buyers will submit their offers to you on a specific date. During this offer presentation, you will have the option to reject all offers, accept the best offer or give all parties an opportunity to improve or change their offers. Once you are happy with the price and details one offer, you will accept it.
The second scenario is pricing your home at market value and waiting until an offer comes in. Once you receive an offer, you will have the opportunity to negotiate and ultimate accept or reject this offer. This strategy is more commonly used in higher price points and during market dips and fluctuations.
Both strategies can be effective if the buyers are accustomed to them, and it is the common strategy in your neighbourhood at the time you are selling your home.
Additional Selling Resources
- Selling Top 5 Staging Tips To Sell Your Home For More Money
- Open Permits: What Every Seller Should Know
- 5 Quick & Cheap Upgrades That Will Add Major Value To Your Home Sale
Managing expectations
Have a frank discussion with your realtor about what happens if your house doesn’t sell on offer day or if it’s taking longer to sell than you initially anticipated. It is important that everyone is aware of all possible outcomes and the listing strategy before the property goes live on MLS. With either pricing scenario, it’s important to be proactive and openly discuss a secondary plan of action – just in case things don’t go as planned. While your property is on the market, your realtor should be gathering important information and feedback from agents and potential buyers. If you need to move to ‘Plan B’, this feedback will be imperative in finalizing your next move.
Timing of a listing
As they say, timing is everything. This is also very true in real estate. In the Toronto market, it can even come down to what day of the week you list your home on! Be aware of holidays, school breaks, and seasonal lows. Market competition is also a consideration so make sure your realtor knows all the facts before choosing your list date.
When buying or selling a house, your realtor is your business partner, confidant, and advocate. Looking out for your best interests, your realtor will navigate the entire process with you, armed with their knowledge, and expertise, guiding you on the best course of action. Keeping in mind your goals and expectations, an experienced realtor will be proactive, ensuring the best possible experience and outcome for you.
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