How To Know If Your Home Is Priced Too High And What To Do About It

When you first start to think about selling your home you may have an idea of what you want the home to sell at. And most likely, that amount is tied to what you need the house to sell at, with a bit of a financial buffer added in. Then you contacted a real estate agent, maybe several, to interview and discuss listing your home. The real estate agent discussed with you the current market. He showed you the comparable homes currently for sale in the area. And he gave you a price point, perhaps even a couple price points with different scenarios.

But did you make the mistake of pushing your desired sales price? Did you insist that the home be placed on the market at the dollar amount you wanted, even if only for a short while? Pricing your home for sale isn't a fine art, but it is a very fine-tuned skill that many real estate agents develop over time in the real estate business.

If you've listed your home for sale, then obviously you want to sell the property. You may have a sense of urgency, or you may not. Regardless, you should price the home in a way that you will encourage it to sell and if you insist on pricing it higher than your real estate agent suggests, then you are in danger of having your home languish on the market.

There are two major warning signs that indicate your property's listing price is too high. The first warning sign is few to no showings of the property. Real estate agents have eliminated your home from their searches and are therefore not calling your listing agent to make an appointment to see your home.

Remember, real estate agents search online and within the parameters set by their clients. If their client's budget is lower than your sales price, even if they are looking in the same area, your home won't come up within the search, because it's above their dollar amount search. Even if the real estate agent looks at every single listing in the area, regardless of price, that real estate agent will eliminate your property from the list of properties to show her client because again, your home is priced higher than comparables in the area. So your home is already rejected, without even getting some looks from potential buyers.

The second warning sign is that the home is being shown, but with no real results. After a showing, your real estate agent will call the buyer's agent to get feedback. But if the buyer's agent doesn't return calls, it's not a good sign. Or, if the buyer's agent has no questions about the property or doesn't ask to see the property again or ask for particular details about the deal, then it becomes fairly clear that the buyer isn't interested in your home. The fact is, the buyers' agents are finding better priced homes in the area and are eliminating any return visits to your property.

As a homeowner and seller, you may be under the impression that a buyer's agent must show their clients every single property that is on the market in the area they want. But that impression is incorrect. A buyer's real estate agent is only obligated to show their clients the "best" properties on the market and if your home is not priced to sell then it won't fit within their definition of "best."

So, you've realized that you've priced your home a bit high. Don't worry! This can be fixed! Talk to your agent and create a plan of attack. Bring the price down to where it is reasonable and even, enticing, to buyers. Did you know that if you price your property at just 5% below market value, your home will generate about 80% showings from real estate agents? And if you really want to get things moving, think about pricing it a bit lower. Because homes priced at 10% below market value will get 92% of agent showings. Compare these rates to a home that is priced just at the market value that will garner approximately 60% of agent showings.

It boils down to the fact that you need to assess your motivation for selling. The more motivated you are to sell, then the more you should consider and implement a price reduction. Your real estate agent will work closely with you and monitor the current market value so that you can set your home apart from the competition and sell!

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