What occurs prior to signing a Listing Agreement?

When you're ready to take the next step toward selling your home, I’m here to help. I understand selling your home and moving can be a life changing event. It must be handled seriously and professionally.  We will work together every step of the way, from assisting you with staging your home for our professional photographers, scheduling showings and negotiating your sale.  My objective is to make the sale of your home a pleasurable and rewarding experience.

When selling your home, pricing is one of the most important aspects to consider. You do not want to price too low, and give the home away, leaving money on the table. But alternatively, you also want to be very careful about pricing too high as it can have damaging effects on your home's value. As local, and experienced realtors, we can prepare an extensive analysis to compare the values in your neighborhood and help you determine what the accurate price range should be. First you'll determine at what price do you think your home will realistically sell at, and then depending on many market factors and trends, you'll determine just how much above that should you set your list price.

Buyers who come to view your home are so well educated in today's modern world of real estate. When searching for a home, buyers will go through extensive comparison shopping with much of their concern focused on price. With the ease of finding information on the internet, buyers today are so well educated on the real estate market's activity and pricing. It is so important to determine a realistic and accurate market value for your home. You want the price of your home high enough to ensure a maximum return to you, yet still appear attractive to buyers when compared to similar homes.

What Affects Your Home’s Market Value?

• Physical Characteristics: Your home’s location, home size, lot size, architectural design, floor plan, age, amenities and condition have the strongest impacts on the value of your home.
• Market Conditions: There are other factors that also directly impact the value of your home. These include current mortgage interest rates, national and regional economic conditions, buyer demand, seasonal demand, availability of competing properties and prices of recently sold properties.

Using a Comparative Market Analysis as a Guide

A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is the strongest tool we use when estimating the potential selling price for your home. As a member of the Board of REALTORS® with access to the Multiple Listing Service, we can prepare a report that analyzes comparable homes in your area. Using this valuable information, we can assist you in determining an attractive, yet realistic price for your home.

A Comparative Market Analysis highlights similar homes in your area that are:

• Active Listings - Homes that are currently competing with yours for the attention of buyers. We can see what comparable asking prices are, but remember these homes have not yet received an acceptable offer.
• Under Contract - Homes that have received and accepted an offer and give a good indication of realistic pricing.
• Sold - Looking at the prices paid for recently sold homes provides the best foundation in determining your home's most accurate market value. Once adjustments are made for square footage and features, we can make a qualified recommendation for the asking price of your home.
• Expired - Homes that have gone through the duration of a listing period, but failed to sell. Many factors could be responsible such as lack of marketing or the home’s condition, but most often it is simply because the home was priced too high.

A Buyer Will Not Pay More Than They Need To

It’s quite simple, a Buyer is just not going to pay any more than they have to when purchasing a home. They have been watching the market closely, and are out there looking at all the inventory. They know more than anyone what is available, and for how much. If your price is within the range of your market, Buyers will come look at your home. If you’re priced too high, they probably will skip it. Your high price will make your competition look good, and will get theirs sold, not yours. What results are you trying achieve, to sell your home or help sell your neighbor’s home?