What do you do when you know your home is worth more than others in your neighborhood, but potential buyers won’t budge? Or when it’s been months with no serious offers? The home-selling business can be tricky enough what with staging your home and preparing it for sale… but pricing it is another process entirely! Let’s take a look at the difference between market value and price, and how you can respond when you don’t get the response you were hoping for.
What is market value?
Market value, plainly put, is the monetary value of your home based on an educated look at your home’s age, features, size, location… and much more. But depending on who you ask, that number can vary greatly, which is why you may struggle with pricing your home fairly to both you and your potential buyers. As an agent, I can help you settle on a fair one—a price that a buyer would reasonably pay for your home within one to three months.
That isn’t to say your home can’t sell quickly! But when a sale takes place too soon, the sale price may not accurately reflect what your home is really “worth.” On the other hand, after about 90 days with no sale it’s likely that you have valued your home too high. And that’s okay—it’s a tricky field to navigate!
Market price is more concrete.
The final price is what your home sells for, and is what future sellers in your neighborhood might look to for guidance in pricing their own homes. When you receive an offer on your home, you can reject it, accept it or respond to it with another price, but it’s important that you realize the true market value your home really is worth—if not to you, then to the buyers in today’s market in your location.
What can you do?
When the selling process doesn’t go your way, take a breath and rethink what you’re asking for. Think about the other homes in your neighborhood and what they’re doing right to make the sale. If you’re not receiving offers, lowering your asking price may bring you closer to your home’s true market value, and will get it sold in a more reasonable amount of time.
Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed while selling your home. If you have any questions during the process, give me a call and I will work to help you through it!
