My Piedmont and Oakland Real Estate Adventures. History, Architecture and Homes

The traditional Summer selling season is now about to begin.   Homes will begin to appear for sale in every neighborhood in the area, and as such, furnish competition for you as you begin to make important decisions about putting your home on the market.  

One of the most important considerations for you to make, is the price that you will be asking for your home.  Many sellers, especially those who have invested a lot of time, and perhaps a great deal of money into their home, will have a tendency to overprice their home at the outset, and hope for the best when putting it on the market.  This is just not practical or realistic, and overpricing will fundamentally affect how quickly you are going to sell that home.

 My role as your selling agent is to assist you in arriving at a competitive and realistic price that will create immediate interest and attention.

There are reasons that overpricing your home can become a problem.  Some include:

1. The Home May Not Be Actively Shown--Agents know their markets.  And now, with the many real estate web sites available, potential buyers know the market as well.  Agents do not want to waste their client's time with homes that are unrealistically priced.  They will show him or her homes that are correctly priced and can be obtained realistically.  You want your home to be among these contenders.

2. You Are Losing Time and Money--A home that sits on the market for a long time can become stigmatized.  Buyers may wonder why this home has been sitting so long.  There is a tendency to wonder what problems there may be with the home.  Are the sellers unreasonable to deal with?  You want avoid building up negative images about your home, as this will ultimately put you in a poor negotiating position, possibly forcing you to lower your price.  

3. Appraisal Problems--Even if you had a buyer who was willing to pay your inflated price, there is another issue that can arise.  If you home does not appraise correctly with the buyer's lender, then financing for that buyer could become a problem.  

In summary, it is important to let me assist you to price your home accurately, correctly and realistically at the outset.  It just makes good sense financially.  I look forward to hearing from you.