Who determines the value of your home? Your home is only worth what a qualified buyer is willing to pay. So, How do you attract the buyer who will pay the most?
PRICE IT RIGHT.Say you listed it with an experienced, reputable local Realtor who persuaded you, through a detailed comparison process of all the other listings that had sold in the past six months, that the price you needed to be listed at was much less than what you owed, what you wanted, what you hoped for, or what you thought you deserved. Sometimes the Realtor takes you on a field trip of all the competing listings just to show you what you are up against. There is no alternative that will substitute for the right price.
STAGE IT RIGHT: After helping you realize the right price, your agent tells you to stage, paint, put in granite counter tops, put in new landscaping, replace the dated light fixtures, and hire a professional photographer all to capture that well qualified buyer in the first TWO WEEKS or else the right price may not be right any more.
CAPTURE IT RIGHT: When buyers are buying online (86% of them do), the first qualifier is price. The next qualifier is the pictures. A terrible picture online repels interest immediately, even if it is the right price. Next to pictures is the drive-by view. Make sure the curb appeal is attractive and then have the Realtor post those front view pictures first.
TIME IT RIGHT: Ask your Realtor to tell you what the best time is to sell in your local market. Don’t go by National advice. In some markets, the spring is so saturated with listings to compete with that you end up getting a lower price than if you had listed in the fall or winter months when the buyers were fewer but more motivated.
MARKET IT RIGHT: Unless you are trying to sell FSBO, a professional Realtor should be tech savvy enough to know the best places to market your home and all of those great pictures, and know how to make that marketing happen. If you are considering how a Realtor does the marketing, check out other listings he/she has. Look at their websites.
So, who ultimately determines the value of your home? The bank? The township? The appraiser? The Realtor? Your home is only worth what a qualified buyer is willing to pay for it. A Good Realtor puts your home out there where a buyer will find it at the right price and keeps a finger on the pulse of the market so you are an active competitor.
Ruth Parker, Keller Williams Realty. One of those tech savvy Realtors who loves listing beautiful homes like yours in Chester County Pennsylvania
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