Results Sound Pricing Strategy Results

FMV but is your price actually realistic FMV

Most people are reasonable and unreasonable at the same time. They are willing to sell for fair market value, the real problem comes with agreeing on what that amount actually is. It's not that they fully expect their agent to sell it for tens of thousands of dollars above fair market value. However, both sides tend to agree on this (agent and seller) – The other side is wrong on what they think the fair market value is. Both sides, want to see the highest sale price possible. One side has been in the property for a long time, knows it inside out and appreciates all the little things about it. They also know a little bit about the market and what is happening out there. The other side (the agent) has researched this property a bit, and the facts of the comparable, time-sensitive market around it to a greater and more precise amount. The seller will concentrate on their home first, and the market second. The agent will concentrate on the market first and the property second. This is the key difference.

Faster sale – and benefits of (financial, work, stress)

Faster sales not only mean less “stale” and a quicker selling price, they tend to also mean a lot less stress and work for the sellers. To get the most appeal and the highest sale price a property must be kept in pristine condition. All the time. You never know when a request to view with short notice or without time for the sellers to prep is going to come in. So the home really has to be kept in pristine condition all the time. And the sellers who don’t care what the home looks like, because the buyer is not buying their furniture and their mess are only HURTING THEMSELVES. Buyers have a multitude of homes to choose from, the seller usually only has one. It is a lot of work, to prep, and keep the home in “Top Dollar, Sale Condition”. The quicker that sale happens the less time this has to happen for. Oh, and by the way, did we mention, that the price will likely be higher as well? Less time, less stress, higher price. Or More time, More Stress, Less Money.

Less inconvenience

Every week your home is “on the market” is another week that you must keep it in pristine condition, and ready to be vacant and shown on short notice. At least if you want to keep it as appealing as possible. It's another week wondering if the next showing will be an interested party. Another week wondering if that buyer that asked a question the week before will be coming with an offer soon. Another week either wondering if you are overpriced or insisting that it isn’t selling because your agent is doing nothing. Any way you look at it, more time on the market, means more inconvenience, more stress, and likely less money.

Motivated buyers

Realistic buyer agent influencing

This is the other part that most sellers don’t realize or rationalize very well. You see we hear things like “we only need one buyer” and “someone will love this place.” And those statements are absolutely true, but unless there is some large extenuating cause, (i.e. multiple offers creating auction psychology) I have yet to meet a buyer who says "I must have it  at any price." It's kind of like this, “I love standard transmissions cars, to me there is no comparison between steering a vehicle and DRIVING a car and feeling like your in control of a sportscar” and I also know this, “they are less popular, thus harder to sell, thus I am going to have to pay less, and I’m not stupid enough to pay more for something I can get for less, PERIOD. I also know that if the car that I am VERY interested in has been on for a while, I am going to go in low, and stand my ground firmer. PERIOD. Now is there an exception to that? YES, there is always the possibility of finding a buyer who loves that one feature, has seen little else other than in higher-priced areas, has an agent who does not do any purchase diligence as far as fair market value, doesn’t look at the history, and the buyer overpays by more than a small reasonable amount. 1 in several thousand, and you may get that situation, but if your banking on it, then your greatly increasing your odds of missing your best chance to get the most money. Is it really worth the risk to you? Do you really want to gamble at the high stakes poker table with the odds against you?

Better online response

Proper pricing or PRICE BRACKETING as I call it puts you into the $25k price bracket that shows enough value to not only get buyers into your property but hopefully also, to show enough value that it entices an offer. Being off by even a dollar can kill your chances. For instance, if your “buyers” are searching between $375k and $450k and you're priced at $451k, they won't even see your property online never mind in person.

Better in-person response

Both quality and quantity

If your pictures and marketing show comparatively enough value for that price point, then you stand a chance to get people inside to “judge for themselves” in person. They will compare what they see in person to the others they have viewed online, and in person. Your home has to show well both online in marketing and advertising (search filtered advertising) and in-person where they judge for themselves. A headhunter can get you an interview based on a great resume, but if you fall down at the interview, you're still hooped. And it's not the headhunter's fault that you didn’t get the job because you expect more money than your interviewer thinks your worth, in fact, your probably not going to get the job offer at all.

Avoid having a shopworn/stale listing

Imagine you're at a bakery, the bakery has 3 displays. 1 display has a sign that says “Delicious fresh donuts $1” and a second display right beside it that says “Same Delicious fresh donuts $1.50” and a third that says “Same Delicious donuts from yesterday $1” which one do you think is going to more popular? The first one, of course, Now, if all the donuts from the first display are sold out, then perhaps people will choose between the 2nd and 3rd one. But if not, then the second has no chance, and the third one is going to have to be changed to this: “Same Delicious donuts from yesterday $1 $0.75” That exact same donut that was worth $1 yesterday, because it didn’t sell, in this case, because it was not priced properly is not worthless, will get less, and will continue to drop in price a little more each day. Now if we're talking inexpensive donuts and we’ve got a bunch, not a big deal. If we have 1 donut to sell, and our future really depends on it, then we better not mess up the Fresh Donut Launch. Because it will cost you.

Higher offers

Maybe even multiple offers

How do higher offers happen? Well frankly there are way too many ways that this can happen to go through here, but the vast majority of them happen for 1 reason. This home has a greater appeal to more people than the others around it. A great enough difference that more than 1 buyer is willing to offer on it at the same time. This happens by showing the better value, See definition of VALUE.

First offer is usually the highest (not 100% right)

There is a very popular adage in the real estate world that “the first offer is the best offer.” (so the sellers should accept or work with it). It is not exactly right although it does have some fact-based merit behind it. This is the TRUTH behind the adage -  The Earlier offers are made the higher they are likely to be and to end up at. For more on this and the reason behind it, see the previous article about DOM. They have a correlation, just not quite the one, the realtors, have been touting for so long. (But typically the same outcome, which is what counts).

THE DISNEY MOVIE BONUS:

I don’t care if your property is overpriced, underpriced, or just right, I don’t care if it was just listed, been on the market for a month, or 6 months. When an offer is coming in, get in touch (smartly) with all the agents who have shown it, and particularly have expressed interest. People want what other people want. They may not have been “all that interested” in a property until they find out that someone else wants it. I have gotten more multiple offer situations because of this than you can imagine. We have CREATED more multiple offer situations that would not have happened. And it is honestly so simple. There is no guarantee, but this extra bit of effort at the RIGHT TIME, and executed properly has paid my fees many times over.

Why do I call it the Disney movie bonus? It's like those Disney movies, where the class nerd blackmails the popular kid, to pretend they are dating them, so they will gain instant REP. And it works… they suddenly become the most popular kid in school. It’s a popular story that has been told many times, but seriously, it has merit. Just don’t fake it, create it for real, and stay out of real estate jail.