Do you know how a magician pulls a rabbit out of his hat? He puts the animal in the hat before the show begins. How can an agent receive multiple offers in this buyers market with inflated inventories? Simply price the property 10% below market value before you enter the listing in MLS.
Recently, I received a referral from an agent who had a friend who was serious about selling. This woman had her home on the market with another agent, but the property expired. The seller wanted the property sold within 30 days. We determined the market value, then subtracted ten percent to determine the list price. Within the first week we had a half dozen showing and three offers. The acceptable offer was full price.
A home properly priced is half sold, even in this market. This seller believed this maxim and listed, sold, and closed her property within 30 days! We determined market value by triangulation. First we studied the comps. The we looked at a recent appraisal. Finally, we went online and looked at www.zillow.com.
I realize Zillow is controversial. But, on a tract home, in my opinion, it is relatively accurate. It is also useful for a listing agent to see what some buyers may be relying on to determine the value of their listing. Sometimes this on-line value is inaccurate because the metrics are in error. Recently, I had a seller edit their property due to a square footage inaccuracy,
What if a seller is serious about selling but unwilling to price their house (remember it's no longer a home!) ten percent below market value? The reduce the price every week until showings increase and offers begin to be submitted.
Proper pricing really is simple, it's just not easy. Gordon Gecko told us, "greed is good." But, a house is only worth what someone is willing to pay.