I have the discussion frequently about trying out a price "just for a little while" or "our house is better and will get a higher price". Generally we end up back to a graphic like what I have depicted here so they can see the error of that view. We have this narrow window of opportunity when the home is fresh and exciting and it’s when the most people will go through and contemplate a sale. Why would you squander that opportunity with an incorrect price?
Each time you overprice you send the buyers who are looking for Bethesda homes for sale back out into the market shaking their heads, saying "they want that much for that house when I can get another for so much less!" The owners of the other homes on the market will rub their hands in glee when sellers make this kind of mistake because it does help to sell the value of their houses.
But I suspect that’s not exactly what the you, as a seller who overpriced, had in mind. So get your own house sold. Price it right from the start.
Here is how I help to get a better idea of price:
How is the active market trending? I use the chart data that is found on my site to understand just where prices on the market are currently heading. Have they been up overall? Is there a price quartile that is trending one way while the others are behaving differently? Can you imagine if you think the whole market is trending up but it’s really just the lowest price quadrant!
Understand how the financing implications play into this pricing. If there is a first time home buyers credit and your home is priced where they will want it, this means we need to understand how much money they will have to put down and how difficult it currently is or not to get a loan.
I keep an extensive spreadsheet of all the Bethesda real estate sales for the last ten years and can break that down by neighborhood. We know right away how one neighborhood is faring vs another in Bethesda homes for sale.
Look at past sales – not just in your neighborhood but in the surrounding area.
Draw on my experience of previewing many of the homes in the area to know what condition was like and why one home might have sold for more than another
Look at how much the list to sale ratio is for a given market. With that information you can understand how a buyer might approach a negotiation and understand the implications of pricing to get that little "extra negotiating room"
Armed with the right information I can help you make a better decision about pricing so you can get to your final goal!
If you are looking to buy or sell a home here or in one of the other lovely surrounding Bethesda real estate communities, please start your search by calling me, a Bethesda Realtor. You can search for all homes for sale in Bethesda here or by clicking on the search button.