When surfing the web the other day, I came across a very good article that was published in The Wall Street Journal; Get Real With Your House Price. Although it was primarily dealing with the market to the south of us, I believe that the info is very important when you are a Seller in today’s market whether it be in the United States of America or Canada. In a condensed form, this is what the article is saying
1) Not enough showings on your property. It does not matter how much advertising is done, if the house is overpriced, the Buyers will not even look at it.
2) Some showings but no contract. One or two showings does not tell the story but if there have been 10 or 15 showings and no Offer, then you really need to address the price!
3) Negative feedback from not just one Buyer but the same feedback from a number of Buyers usually indicates that there is something wrong and if it is price, then you need to fix it if you are hoping for a sale.
4) If there are similar homes on the market and they are selling for less, why in heck would a Buyer pay more for your home. You may think it is because of location, landscaping and or decor; NOT! You must be compete with price if you are hoping to sell!
5) If you have come down in price, have you come done enough? Remember that we are talking about many thousands of dollars here. To come down $2000.00 is just not going to do it. At the least, $5000.00 is a good start and then go from there.
It is the market that determines your home value. It’s not what your neighbor sold his home for, it’s not what you wish it was worth, it’s not even what an appraiser says it is worth. It’s what buyers in the market say it’s worth. Period. We all have had he experience where your co-worker or perhaps your neighbour may think they kow a little bit about real estate prices but the bottom line is that you need to look at the very recent market and what is happening in it in order to put the right price on your property.
Under new federal regulations, as of June 23, 2008, Realtors are now obligated to collect personal data. Whether you are buying or selling, it is now our responsibility to make sure that we know who we are dealing with by way of obaining identification. These steps will hopefully help to fight the battle against money laundering, drug trafficking and/or any terroist activities that may try to get a foothold through real estate holdings. It is only with the assistance of our clients and customers that we can hope to fight this illegal activity. For more info on this subject, please click herehttp://web02.nm.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/06/23/fintrac-realtors.html
