In this current stable but slow real estate market in Phoenix how do you price your home?

When the market was booming a few years ago, appraisers and sellers could not keep up with increasing home prices.  In fact buyers were quicker to offer more for homes than appraiser were willing to give value.  It is now a buyer’s market and pricing is more crucial.  Bad pricing in a buyer's market will not be corrected by buyers.  They will simply ignore the home or offer much less after it has been on the market for many months in order to get a "deal". 

Here are several things to consider when pricing your property in the current Phoenix real estate market.

Your home is in "pure competition" with not just properties in your neighborhood but with other homes in your city and the valley.  Buyers choose a home for many reasons and similar home may be over 10 or more miles away.  You have to be competitive against many of them.  Many of the things, like schools, location, transportation routes you can't control.  That leaves price, condition and marketing. 

If there is another similar home in your neighborhood to yours, for sale, at a lower price then it will most likely sell first.  How is your home priced against your neighbors?  Visit those other homes and compare them. 

When pricing your home, you can hire an appraiser to give you his/her opinion of value.  When hiring an appraiser tell him/her that you need the appraisal for sale.  Values can come out different depending on who hires the appraiser and what the appraisal will be used for.  Be careful, though, because appraisers look at sold properties up to 6 months old.  They look at history.  They don't look at active properties.  It is the active properties competing against yours, not the sold one.

In the current real estate climate the condition must be optimal.  Clean and then clean again. Hire a professional staging company.  It usually becomes worth it for homes $200K plus.  Staging can make a world of difference and may help your homes sell for more, or sooner or a combination of the two.

Become familiar with financing options for buyers.  Being able to help a buyer with financing will help your home sell.  This is a major part of why the market is slow now.  It's more difficult to obtain financing.  Having the sources and knowledge of current FHA loans and home purchase programs will place you ahead of the competition.

If these traditional methods fail, consider marketing your home with a lease option, lease purchase, or subject to, financing.  These are great ways to get people into homes, and if done correctly can benefit both the seller and buyer.

There is no substitution for proper pricing. Other factors need to be carefully considered but no matter how pretty and well manicure your home is, it won't sell if it’s too expensive compared to the competition. 

Then there is marketing.  This is something we can discuss when you call us to sell your property. 

Please, choose your real estate sales team carefully, just as you would a doctor or lawyer.  It's not enough just to have a license, especially now.