Is the Asking Price Relevant in Today’s Real Estate Market?

By ROBERT RADCLIFFE | Special to the Palisadian-Post

The asking price of a home for sale is unquestionably the most important factor in marketing the home and in achieving the end result of getting the house sold. Statistics show that a home priced (and marketed) properly not only sells more quickly, but also results in the house selling for its highest value.

On the contrary, when a home is priced too high, it misses the opportunity to catch buyers’ attention as a hot new listing. In addition, overpricing a property risks that the home will not sell at all or possibly worse, will sell at a price lower than its fair market value.

If a home sits on the market, buyers begin to wonder what is wrong with it.

What can you do as a seller to ensure you are properly pricing your home to sell for its highest value?

First, do a little homework on your own. Attend a few open houses in your neighborhood that would likely be similarly priced to yours.

Second, you may want to consider hiring a licensed and local appraiser. This is a very smart move for a few reasons.

Primarily, appraisers are trained to provide professional analysis of your home’s value. Just as important, however, is the fact that appraisers do not have any alternative motive that might influence the way they value your home. This is critical because sometimes homeowners have unintentionally been misguided to be too optimistic about their home’s value.

Third, experts recommend the best method to determine your home’s value and best asking price is to meet with a local and top-producing real estate agent with experience. A knowledgeable agent can determine what your home should sell for and explain why.

A final thought about pricing is that it boils down to having your agent, along with your input, determine the perfect balance of settling on an asking price that will attract the highest number of qualified buyers and at the same time setting that asking price high enough and close enough to its true market value that will ensure your home sells for its highest value.

Article contributed by Robert Radcliffe of The Radcliffe Group with the Pacific Palisades Sotheby’s International Realty office. Robert can be reached at (310) 255-5454 and his credentials can be viewed at www.robertradcliffe.com