Do this to price your home right and sell for at least 8% more

The average sale price of homes in Michigan is up 10 percent in the past year, making the market a very intriguing place for sellers. In fact, now may be a great time to put up a “For Sale” sign and convert some of that newfound equity into cash.

But exactly how should you price your home in order to attract the best offers? Should you list it super high just to see if the market will bear it? Should you set a lowball price in hopes of stoking a bidding war among prospective buyers?

“I want my properties for my sellers to be in the market, not just on the market,” said Sue Petschke, a residential and commercial real estate agent with RE/MAX 1st Realty in Marquette. “Anybody can be on the market, but you need to be in the market if you really want to sell at the best price.”

Residential real estate is currently a sellers’ market with a tight supply of homes that’s not enough to meet the demand from buyers. As a result, the average sale price so far this year in Michigan is $200,000 – up 10% from $181,759 a year ago, according to the Michigan Association of Realtors.

The forecast calls for continued strong demand from buyers, who now have much more buying power due to record-low interest rates on mortgages. So, if you put your home on the market right now, there’s a good chance it will sell, and possibly for more money than what you might expect.

But to get the best price in a timeframe that works for you can be tricky. Working with an experienced, professional RE/MAX agent can help sellers consider all the factors and get a maximum return on the investment in their home.

RE/MAX agents around Michigan have been serving home buyers and sellers for well over 40 years.

“Now more than ever is when people need Realtors,” said Carol Genzink, who owns RE/MAX Lakeshore offices in Grand Haven, Holland and South Haven. “It’s not a straightforward time.”

Here are just some of the things to consider when determining the best listing price for your home:

• Home style and design including number of bedrooms and bathrooms
• Square-footage and amenities
• Curb appeal
• Area and school district in which the home is located
• Recent sale prices of comparable nearby homes
• Prices of comparable homes that are actively listed
  

Determining the best listing price for a house is a good way to weed out offers that could cause headaches down the road. For example, it might be exciting to get an offer high above your asking price. But that excitement quickly fades if your home doesn’t appraise for that high amount and the buyer can’t get financing from the bank. Then, you’re back to square one and prospective buyers with better offers have moved on to other houses.

“I don’t want to go two weeks in and get the appraisal back showing the house is worth $20,000 less (than the offer),” Genzink said.“I would rather see homes priced at market or slightly above and get some good offers versus having to sort through 20 of them that are all over the board with people guessing (at the true value of the house).”

Just as important as determining the best listing price for a house is to evaluate the quality of offers that come in from prospective buyers. Again, “just because it’s the highest offer might not make it the best offer,” Genzink said.

For example, a buyer might want to take possession of the house in a timeframe that doesn’t work for the seller. A buyer might be asking for extensive repairs that make the offer less desirable. Maybe one buyer is already working with a lender while another buyer who offered a higher price isn’t pre-qualified yet and might not even be able to finance the house. There’s a lot more to consider than just the price.

“If I get multiple offers on a listing, I sit down and make a spreadsheet on what type of financing the buyer is getting, how much money they’re putting down, what’s the closing time, what’s the possession time, are they pre-approved and who’s the lender. All of that goes into it,” Genzink said.

“The stats are pretty clear even now that homes sold with a Realtor sell for at least 8% or 9% more.”

Most people sell a home only a few times during their lives. Now might be a great time to give it a shot. To make the most of the opportunity, find a RE/MAX agent near you today and discover the best price to list your house.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of different pricing strategies?  Buyers represented by professional REALTORS will be advised on the nature of the list price.  Is the home priced high?  Low?  Equal to market value?  Based on the Buyer's Agent assessment, this can influce buyer's eventual offers on the home.

This strategy attempts to earn a higher net profit, but may take longer to sell.  If you do not recieve an offer at your original list price, price reductions have their own impact on the eventual sale price of the home.

This startegy can reduce the time on market, and increase the number of buyers interested in your home.  Expect more showings and more offers.  But, it could net you less in the end than you could have received by listing at market value.

In a normal market, pricing at market value usually attracts solid buyers willing to pay what a home is worth.  

If you're considering selling your home, use this conveinent RE/MAX of Michigan home valuation tool get a computer estimate of the value of your home.