Accurate Pricing Is More Important Than Ever These Days

Just as an appraiser is an essential element in the home purchase process; a real estate agent is an essential in determining sales price for their seller clients. While a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) provides an excellent way of establishing a reasonable marketing range and potential selling price, sometimes a listing languishes. If your property listing is slow to move in a healthy real estate market, there are generally three reasons why:

Location

You can’t change the location of your  home, but you can ensure a realistic selling price and  have your agent focus their  marketing efforts on buyers who are interested in the neighbourhood.  

Condition

Some houses just don’t show well, or need serious repairs. A stager can’t hide water damage; the homeowners should be prepared to upgrade to get their price. In today’s market, most buyers do not want to have to fix anything.

Price 

In a recent Forbes article, writer Ross Gerber notes: “There is perhaps no one more ill-suited to appraise a piece of real estate than the person who owns it.” A homeowner may over-value his or her home, particularly if improvements have been made and he or she wants to see a good return on the investment. Adjusting the price may be difficult. It is truly important to review the market statistics with your real estate agent. However, because of recent changes to mortgage rules, many lenders are scrutinizing property values more closely and asking for appraisals. Your clients should know that a price that is out of sync with the comparatives will likely be found out during the appraisal. Assist 2 Sell  will price the property correctly based on the CMA, which is usually right in line with the appraised value.