One of the most important steps in preparing to sell your Oakland home is to price it correctly from the outset. Putting too high a price on your home is the fastest way to have it sit for months on end, and have potential broker and buyer interest dwindle as the weeks wear on. Many sellers already have an unrealistic price in mind before they even begin to contact a broker to sell their home. Below are some ideas to assist in that consideration.
Here Are A Few Steps To Take When First Deciding How to Price Your Home:
1. Do Your Homework First: With a wealth of web sites devoted to real estate properties for sale, it is impossible not to locate information about home prices in your market area. The Sunday newspaper, every real estate brokerage site, and trips in the car around your area will tell you what sellers are asking, and buyers are buying. Take this information seriously. It may not be what you want to hear, but it tells you exactly what kind of situation you are in at this point in time--that is, what homes like yours are being sold for.
2. Check And Compare: Make a complete list of your home's assets and liabilities. Be realistic, because the buyers are certainly going to do so. The tough part is that your future buyer's loan appraisers are going to do this as well, and they will be even more highly analytical.  Find houses that truly and realistically match your home. Isolate them out, and discuss them to see what price fits your results.
3. Look At The Hard Facts: All these websites mentioned above also show you the trend lines in your area. These are truly valuable for your pricing. Are the trends going up or down? If they are going down, would it make sense to sell and leave promptly before you take a further loss?  Also consider how long comparably priced houses have been on the market? Days, weeks, months?Â
4. Get A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)-This is where I,as your agent, can assist you. I will research and prepare a complete package of information about what homes are being sold for in your neighborhood, using the criteria of what seem to be the most comparable to your home in terms of size, style, price. You will be able to see immediately the trends, the highs and the lows of the current market. Together, based on my experience, and your final analyses, we will come up with a price that is both realistic and workable.
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Posted by Bruce Wagg on
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