The Local Weekly The heart and soul of our communities with news and information about the Sunshine Coast
As people put their home that failed to sell in 2012 back on the market, let’s not repeat the mistake of last year. Price it right from the start.
Put aside your emotions and price your home right from the beginning! The advantages of an accurate listing price are a faster sale, less inconvenience, increased activity, often a higher selling price, reduced negotiations and avoidance of your investment becoming a stale listing which can lead to your home standing out and being compared negatively to the competition.
Appraisers use two main methods to appraise your home. One is by direct comparison and the other is by cost approach. The cost approach takes in the land and included site developments plus the home, garage, basement and extras. These are assigned values related to land sales and current building costs and the buildings will be depreciated according to wear and tear.
Realtors will sometimes do a worksheet on your home using the cost approach prior to using the direct comparison. Direct comparison is the most accurate indication of market value for your home. Your home is compared to similar homes that have sold and adjustments are made for differences. Your realtor normally would come up with at least three homes that have sold recently and are similar to your home. If you live in a cute, heritage-style home, then the comparisons should be similar to that. If you live in 2,800 square foot home on a non-view lot, it will be difficult to compare to a 2,800 square foot view home given the difference a view makes to many buyers.
Also, it’s better to look at what price your neighbor sold for than to look at what your neighbor listed.
In a buyers’ market, it pays to look at sales first and then the currently listed homes. Through the Internet, many buyers are very well informed and they know the market. Buyers want to make sure they are getting the best value for their money.
I quite often have sellers indicate they want to have a little room to negotiate. Or they say that hopefully someone is going to come along and pay them 10 per cent more than suggested because their home is special. What the statistics show is that the best offer for your home will usually come in the first 30 days. After that time, the price you expect to receive for your home will decline. I have seen sales where an average property was listed for four years before it sold. Imagine the stress of being on the market for that length of time.
Price it right!
