There are many reasons to feel pressured to sell your home, be it a job transfer, family medical issues or financial hardship. This is when you face cold, hard facts about your home’s value and what you can expect to net from your sale.
Understand that what you paid for your home years ago has little, if any, relevance today. And a buyer won’t pay a premium price simply because that’s what you owe.
If your home is now worth less than what you still owe, it may be time to call your lender and Realtor to arrange listing your property as a “short sale.” Your lender and agent will indicate what they need to start and then you can begin your aggressive marketing. A short sale will blemish your credit rating, but not as bad or for as long as a foreclosure.
If you’re not experiencing such financial hardship, but still facing a deadline to sell, it would be wise to discuss the Comparative Market Analysis that your Realtor prepares. Then, it is important to price your home below the average sales prices listed. That’s “sales” prices, not “listing” prices. And “Expired” listings educate you about the prices for which homes did not sell under any circumstances, so pay attention to these comparables, too.
To be competitive as a seller in the current market, you need to be competitively priced. An aggressively priced home will stand out among the rest and, more importantly, it will attract more interest and more qualified buyers.
It’s always better to sell lower sooner than have to reduce your price and sell lower later — just ask those sellers who did the latter!
— Paul Suding, a real estate agent with Cool Santa Barbara Homes and Village Properties, is president of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors. He can be contacted at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 805.455.8055.
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