Tight Market? You Can Still Get the Right Price for Your Home! - article featured by Elizabeth Murphy

Tight Market? You Can Still Get the Right Price for Your Home!
By John Voket

In increasingly competitive markets like Philly, your RIS Consumer Confidant knows it may not make sense for sellers to stubbornly sit on a property with a fixed price set in their mind and no room to budge.

Zip, real estate firm in Philadelphia, Penn., recently advised their clients via a web blog on how to get the right price when selling a home in their market.

They ask potential sellers to consider two strategies that may work well in home sale negotiation, which could easily apply in accelerating markets all over the country:

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• Avoid pricing your home higher than the value of your home’s comparables. Zip says rather than pricing your home on the higher end, you want to set a fair price in hopes that buyers will compete to drive up the price. If you know your home will sell quickly, perhaps because of location, amenities, or the community, then this strategy can work very well for you. It depends, though, on effective marketing and getting plenty of attention from likely buyers. That can be a lot to ask for.

• Price the home at a value that is higher than what you need to sell it for, and then plan to negotiate with buyers. This is an important strategy when you have a mortgage or you need to sell for at least a set dollar amount according to Zip. This is only recommended if your are not under any time constraints or when you are not under any pressure.

They say either of these strategies can work, but only if the right interest is present from buyers.

Real estate pros also believe the best strategy when selling a home right now is to work with a real estate agent who knows the market well and can offer the necessary tools to help sellers avoid turning off potential buyers.

Here are a few more tips for sellers:

• Know what a fair price is for your home. This should be based off market comparables, not what you believe your home is worth. Your agent can help to negotiate with an interested buyer on price as well as closing costs.
• Be willing to negotiate any terms you can. For example, if you do not want to drop your selling price, but you have an interested buyer, offer other things that might convince the buyer to agree to your terms, such as moving back the closing date or paying some of the closing costs.
• Be ready to walk away from a deal if you have to. There are situations when you simply have to say no and go.