Highlands County Talk

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For Sale By Owner - #1 The Right Price

 

 

fsbo The #1 selling point , is The Right Price, especially in a Buyer's market. Every buyer wants a great deal and you probably felt the same way when you initially bought your property.

Over 80% of today's buyers go online when they first start searching for a home. These buyers are savvy and they know about pricing. Once you have buyers calling you or knocking on your door, you want to be prepared to defend your asking price.

When pricing real estate, there is one single factor that determines the right price for a home: what the market will bear.
Your property has many different values  such as the taxable value, the sentimental value and the market value. Buyers only look at the market value. They do not care how much you need from the sale, they do not care how much you initially paid for the home or how much your payoff is.
Researching the sale prices of comparable homes will give you a price range in which to position your home. Homes currently for sale are your competition. Homes that have recently sold are a great indicator of how much buyers are willing to pay for a certain home. The asking prices of homes that have failed to sell will show you what buyers were not willing to pay.

Ideally, this data should be as recent as possible, do not go back more than 6 months and stay as close as possible to your neighborhood. It is up to you just where to position your home. Keep in mind though, the closer you get to meeting the actual market, the  faster your property will sell.
Have your research data handy when buyers call or stop by for an impromptu  showing.  Once again, you want to be able to defend your asking price. It might also be a good idea to take your current asking price and see how your property compares to other homes with similar asking prices.

Personally, I like to use color graphs that show at one glance how the subject  is positioned in the market.

This ensures that buyers can see in the blink of an eye how well the property is priced and it doesn't require them to read through page after page of numbers. There are even more benefits from taking the time and doing the research:

 fsbo
fsbo

Flyers

I have had quite some success distributing flyers in neighborhoods.Make sure your flyers contain at lease one sharp photograph and detailed information about all those special features of your home. Since your property can only be shown by appointment,  make mention of the best time to call and schedule a showing. For example: if you work during the day note that showings can only be scheduled after 6pm
As a professional, I offer my clients a wide array of advertising options. A favorite with sellers are Microsoft Powerpoint Presentation burned onto a mini CD that can easily be distributed among fellow Realtors to show their clients. Also very popular are Visual Tours that allow buyers  to tour properties online without ever leaving their own living room. These Tours can also be added to Powerpoint Presentation for double impact.

Buyer's Agents Welcome

If you are willing to pay half the commission, buyer agents might be willing to work with you present another way to give you access to a their pool of potential buyers.

Yard Sale

A great way to de-clutter, make a few extra bucks and let your customers know your home is for sale. They might  not be interested to buy themselves but they have friends and family that might just be looking to move into your neighborhood. Make sure you have flyers handy to pass out.

I hope I could give you a few hints to advertise  and market your property in order to attract potential buyers.

Copyright Darrin & Andrea Mills 2008 "For Sale By Owner - The Right Price"
If you need help pricing your property, we'll be more than happy to assist you.
andrea@millsrealestate.net

This post was originally posted on http://sebring.activerain.com/

 

Also read:


#2 Where are your buyers coming from?
#3 Understanding Buyers

 

 



 

3 comments • Andrea & Darrin Mills YourHighlandsCountyRealtors 863-202-0729 • July 30 2008 05:50AM

Comments

Good Advice!  Alot of FSBO are still thinking they can sell their home in the same market it was 5 years ago. If someone is serious about selling they'll price it right or go with an agent. :-)

Posted by Janis Olson-RE/MAX At Barnegat Bay...... The "Pattie" Romano Team..609-276-1741 (RE/MAX At Barnegat Bay 609-978-4046 ext: 5114) about 1 year ago

Andrea,

I agree wholeheartedly that The Right Price is extremely important in a buyer's market.  Consumers who choose to sell by owner suffer from the same emotional attachment to their homes as do those that choose agent representation, unfortuntately.  We find that the sellers who have paid for a professional appraisal by a licensed independent appraisar are successful in all price ranges than are those who set their price based upon Zillow or other online sources.  Even asking a few local agents to provide an opinion of value can vary by several thousands of dollars.  Knowing that your home is priced competitively will not only allow you to justify your asking price to a buyer or a buyer's agent, but will also satisfy a lender's requirement, assuring that your buyer will be able to get a loan.

Posted by Liz Provo, Massachusetts 4 Sale By Owner about 1 year ago

We've come across a few For Sale By Owner's that advertise "Zillow Appraised" on their flyers. When looking up actual comps in their immediate neighborhood (just for the fun of it), we found they were "Zillow Overpriced" by 70%.

Posted by Andrea & Darrin Mills YourHighlandsCountyRealtors 863-202-0729 (ERA Advantage Realty) about 1 year ago

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