Today’s housing situation creates a moving target for the homeowner who wants to sell, and it is especially difficult for the For Sale By Owner.  One of my key rules for selling is ‘Don’t chase the price down’!  Unfortunately, this is what most sellers (both those using an agent and the FSBO) are doing.  Agents today say $5,000 and even $10,000 price reductions are not affecting the showings for properties.  The reductions need to be $20,000 or more, and much more if the property is upper end.

What does this mean?  The price was too high to begin with.  Last month over 1300 homes sold in the greater Portland/Vancouver Metropolitan areas.  Buyers are out there, in all segments of the residential market, and they are not stupid.  They have plenty of homes to choose from, so the seller who is able to make sure the buyer knows about his home and ‘proves’ his home is the best value is going to get the sale. 

So, how do you price the home correctly?  Here’s some ideas:

1.  Check the tax records for recent sales.  Most counties now have tax records available online.  Make sure you look at the actual ’sold’ dates and take into account the seller probably accepted that price one to three months prior to the closing dates.  The older the data, the less accurate it is.  Also, some tax records are notoriously inaccurate regarding size, bedrooms, baths, etc., so if you see something that ‘doesn’t look right’, don’t put too much weight on that one.

2.  Hire an appraiser.  They aren’t cheap (figure around $400), but they should give you a definite figure ‘at an exact point of time’.  They will take into account most of the specifics of your home.

3.  Call a Real Estate Agent for a CMA.  A lot of agents will probably do it, just on the hope he/she might get a listing.  Your top agents will probably not do it; they are busy enough with listed clients.

4.  Request my Property Investment Profile.  I do these for hundreds of home owners.  They are automated and do not take much time on my part to set up.  I provide them monthly to my sphere who really have no intention of selling right now, but want to stay informed about what the market says about homes like theirs, and I provide them weekly to actual sellers.  I don’t mind setting one up for you, just visit my website at www.OregonFSBOCoach.com to request it.

Here’s the  bottom line.  Whatever price you set, with the amount of buyers available right now you can know pretty quickly whether or not you have priced correctly (as long as you are sure plenty of people know your home is available – that’s what marketing is about).  If you set a price and a week to ten days goes by without activity, your price is too high.  If you get several showings, but no ’second showings’ or offers, your price is too high.