Don’t Overprice Your Home
The truth is that you just chose an agent who “bought” your listing. He “bought” the listing by suggesting you might be able to get a higher sales price than what the market warrants. Most likely, he is quite doubtful that your home will actually sell at that price. The intention from the beginning is to eventually talk you into” lowering the price”. If you start out with too high a price on your home, you may have just added to your stress level, and selling a home is stressful enough.  Â
If you have overpriced your home, fewer agents will preview your home. After all, they are professionals, and it is their job to know local market conditions and home values. If your house is dramatically above market, why waste time? Their time is better spent previewing homes that are priced realistically. Later, when you drop your price, your house is “old news.” You will never be able to recapture that flurry of initial activity you would have had with a realistic price. Even if you do successfully sell at an above market price, your buyer will need a mortgage. The mortgage lender requires an appraisal. If comparable sales for the last six months and current market conditions do not support your sales price, the house won’t appraise and your deal falls apart!!Â
Once your home sits on the market awhile, it is harder to get a good offer. Potential buyers will think you might be getting desperate, so they will make lower offers. By over-pricing your home, in the beginning, you could actually end up settling for a lower price than you would have normally received.Â
In short, you may have ended up with an agent who was good at selling you, but not good at selling your house and you are going to pay them a commission for this. It is human nature for you to want the highest price for your home. However, when you choose the agent who promises what you want to hear, it often leads to stress and frustration. Most of the time, it will take you longer to sell your home and you will end up selling it for a lower price.
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