Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market
On many listing appointments home sellers perk up once we get past discussions about showing condition, marketing, commission and staging and get on to another important home selling factor… pricing of the home. Although I’ve been doing this for years, I continue to find it interesting how different agents can have such varying opinions on an appropriate list price for a given home. It seems that agents either don’t agree on the best comparable listings for establishing pricing or maybe there’s ulterior motives involved.
When going over pricing, I discuss a price range and explain that whether we go on the high or low side of that range depends on the seller’s real estate goals. I like to welcome the seller’s opinion because knowing a seller’s motivation is critical to helping them achieve their real estate goals. Still, there are cases when a seller asks me point-blank, “How much will my home sell for?” And my answer is always the same… Unless I’m going to buy the home from them right then and there, it’s impossible to answer that question because we don’t know who the BUYER is going to be. What I can tell them are the factors that buyers will NOT be considering when deciding how much they’re willing to pay for a home…
Most agents are somewhere between pretty sure and really sure what your home will sell for, but the truth is no agent knows for sure because the market value of every home is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay for it. The market changes daily and think of it this way… While there may be a buyer today willing to pay $300,000 for your home, if they buy another home today and you don’t put your home on the market until tomorrow, there’s no way to know how quickly a similar buyer will enter the market-place.
A home that is in excellent condition Structurally (foundation, roof, driveway, etc.), Mechanically (HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc.) and Cosmetically (paint, carpeting, fixtures, etc.) and which is listed by a real estate agent who uses effective marketing techniques will net the highest possible sales price from a ready, willing and able home buyer.
Posted by Jason Brown