There Are Three Basic Key Elements That Sell A Home.
The three key elements are condition, location and price.
Of the three elements, Sellers typically have control over two of them: condition and price.
Most Buyers, unless they are investors, will tend to choose homes that are in good condition and need very little work to move right into. Most first-time home buyers fall into this category. I like to use the analogy that you would not sell your car with mud caked on the outside, filled to the brim with trash inside, with the radio not working, the A/C not working, and four flat tires, and expect to sell it for the same price as a similar car in mint showroom condition. It’s just not going to happen!
A little elbow grease pays off big time in selling a home. Such things as window washing, carpet cleaning, exterior wood rot repair and painting go a long way in getting top dollar for your home. A buyer usually views repairs as costing at least double what they actually costs when determining an offer price for your home. Why give buyers an opportunity to knock down your price?
The other key element sellers have control over is pricing. There are four pricing scenarios:
- Sellers who need to move fast. Sellers who have taken a job transfer fall into this category. These Sellers need to price their house below the competition in order to sell. They don’t have time to “test” the market and chase a declining market. They need to get the job done and move on.
- Sellers having a financial hardship and facing foreclosure. These Sellers typically fall into the Short Sale category, and must price the home high enough for their lender to consider taking a short sale, and low enough to generate buyer interest in making an offer.
- Sellers whose homes have decreased in value and they just want to get out and salvage what is left of its value. The best thing for these sellers to do is to get a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) from an agent and price the home at market value.
- Lastly, are the Sellers whose homes have been on the market and the home is just not selling. If the culprits are not condition and location, then more than likely it is the price. Ask your agent to prepare a new CMA to determine what other homes have sold for recently, and why buyers chose those homes over yours.