🤔 How should you price your home…
…to maximize the amount it ultimately sells for?
Hi, it’s Eva Lin, #1 agent for Pasadena home sales over the last 12 months.
Today I’m sharing exactly what you need to know about pricing your home…
…in this current economic environment.
As you know, up until late spring, the real estate market was red hot.
📈 Month after month prices climbed higher and higher.
Frankly, things were getting crazy.
You probably remember the news coverage about a modest house 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house in South Pasadena…
…that sold for $1.3 million over the asking price.
Just think about that!
The house was listed for sale at $1.2 million and sold for $2.5 million!
💡 Here’s the big takeaway:
Up until the market cooled, how your realtor priced your home wasn’t terribly important.
Demand was so fierce that it could be underpriced or overpriced (within reason)…
…and you’d still expect a bidding war that pushed your home’s value sky-high.
But now, things have changed.
How you price your home in today’s market…
…dramatically impacts how much equity you walk away with.
❓ The question then becomes:
“How should you price your home to maximize the amount it ultimately sells for?”
– Should you price it high and hope an offer comes in at the lower price you’re expecting?
– Should you price it right at the expected market value?
– Or should you price it under the market value?
Here’s the most important thing to keep in mind:
Whether the market is red hot or lukewarm…
…an enticing offer price ALWAYS generates more interest.
💪 And when you have strong interest, buyers WILL compete by bidding the price up.
Here’s an example that perfectly illustrates the point:
Just last week, my clients Judy & Richard completed the sale of their beautiful Oak Knoll Neighborhood home in Pasadena.
I strategically priced the home at $2.95M.
Based on my experience helping so many families with their home sale…
…I knew that $2.95M would be enticing.
The idea of buying a beautiful home like Judy & Richard’s…
…and possibly getting it in the $2’s rather than the $3’s is very compelling.
🔥 This strategic offer price generated far more interest and open house traffic than…
…would have otherwise been the case.
Of course, other elements also had a big impact on the response we received, such as:
– Elegant home staging
– Engaging video marketing, and
– Powerful copywriting that tapped into the emotions of the buyers we were targeting.
👍 By combining these elements with an enticing offer price:
-Judy & Richard received multiple offers and the price was bid up.
-They opened escrow in less than 2 weeks, and
-Their home just sold at $3.2M even in this market with fewer buyers.
Judy & Richard were initially concerned about selling in this slower market…
…but they are absolutely thrilled with the outcome of their sale!
🥳️ I’m so happy for their success and so glad they applied the pricing strategy I advised.
If we had selected an initial listing price well into the $3M range:
– The home would have received less attention
– Traffic at the open houses wouldn’t have been bustling, and
– The overall response from buyers would have been less enthusiastic
You see, when buyers notice a flurry of activity around a home and learn that others are submitting offers…
…it builds their confidence to make a strong offer of their own.
❤️ These dynamics also cause the buyers for your house to become emotionally invested.
BUT when buyers notice that activity is slow and there are no competing offers…
…they may perceive the house as less desirable.
If they do submit an offer, it’s more likely to be a weak one that they’re not very committed to.
📉 What’s more, the buyer may try to negotiate the price down even further after opening escrow…
…by requesting aggressive credit amounts during the inspection process.
This often happens when the buyer feels like they’re “the only game in town.”
However, the dynamics are reversed when the seller has…
…multiple strong bidders and, ideally, a “Back Up Offer” in place.
🏆 In this scenario, the buyer with the winning bid will be:
– Far more committed to closing the sale, and
– Far less likely to try to extract concessions from you.
This is because they realize they are not the only game in town.
For home sellers, it’s ALWAYS most advantageous to have…
…multiple buyers aggressively pursuing your property.
☝️ And the first step to achieving this is establishing an enticing offer price that generates maximum interest.
That’s certainly what my clients, Judy & Richard, just experienced firsthand!