Home Pricing is Critical

Overpricing a home can have many ramifications for a home seller.  It can limit the number of potential buyers who can afford your home, reduce showings and create an impression in the marketplace that the homeowners are not serious about selling their home.  Serious homeowners who overprice their home often get caught in the trap of price reduction after price reduction trying to catch up to the market.

During the past year, U.S. home sellers slashed more than $24 billion according to Trulia.com. Trulia’s Q1 Home Offer Report indicated that on average, most sellers will reduce their list price after 79 days on the market, choosing to cut their original list price by 8 percent. Following a first reduction, 35 percent of these sellers will make a second.

Most home buyers look at 10-15 homes before making a buying decision. Because of this, setting a competitive price relative to the competition is an essential component to a successful marketing strategy. Under pricing a home isn’t good either- educating your clients about the importance of properly pricing a home is key to the home sales process.

Most experts would advise that the best way to increase your odds of a successful sale is to price your home at fair market value. But, as logical as this advice sounds, for many sellers it is still tempting to tack a few percentage points onto the price to "leave room to negotiate". To avoid this temptation, below are seven common problems associated with overpricing your home:

1. Appraisal Problems

Even if you do find a buyer willing to pay an inflated price, the fact is over 90% of buyers use some kind of financing to pay for their home purchase. If your home won't appraise for the purchase price the sale will likely fail.

2. No Showings

Today's sophisticated home buyers are well educated about the real estate market. If your home is overpriced they won't bother looking at it, let alone make you an offer.

3. Branding Problems

When a new listing hits the market, every agent quickly checks the property out to see if it's a good fit for their clients. If your home is branded as "overpriced", reigniting interest may take drastic measures.

4. Selling the Competition

Overpricing helps your competition. How? You make their lower prices seem like bargains. Nothing is worse than watching your neighbors put up a sold sign.

5. Stagnation

The longer your home sits on the market, the more likely it is to become stigmatized or stale. Have you ever seen a property that seems to be perpetually for sale? Do you ever wonder - What's wrong with that house?

6. Tougher Negotiations

Buyers who do view your home may negotiate harder because the home has been on the market for a longer period of time and because it is overpriced compared to the competition.

7. Lost Opportunities

You will lose a percentage of buyers who are outside of your price point. These are buyers who are looking in the price range that the home will eventually sell for but don't see the home because the price is above their pre-set budget.

Most buyers look at 10-15 homes before making a buying decision. Because of this, setting a competitive price relative to the competition is an essential component to a successful marketing strategy.

Most agents offer a complimentary CMA(Competitive Market Analysis) of your home. Interview several before deciding who to list with.  

Chris Tuite and Boston Real Estate

Lewis Wharf Owner........      

"Chris is the consumate professional as a real estate agent. In addition to his great attitude and superb personality his knowledge of the Boston real estate market is second to none. He has never let us down with finding great people to rent and his advice has been excellent. He has a great feel for the market and his integrity and inventive thinking make him the one person we go to for our real estate needs."

Real Estate Lawyer......

"I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Chris on several real estate transactions that he was involved in as both, a listing agent and a buyer’s agent and found him to be exceptionally thorough, diligent and overly conscientious of his client’s objectives. He also has a keen sense of current market conditions which serves as a tremendous asset when he is negotiating on his client’s behalf. And, he approaches the resolution of any issues that arise in a very practical manner so as not to compromise the transaction but at the same time attaining his client’s objectives at hand." 

North End Property Owner........

"I met Chris while I was working as a community liason consultant for a real estate developer where he was the realtor responsible for selling the condo units. Chris was and is very professional and his company is one of only two Realty offices ( out of 8 or 10 ) in the North End of Boston I would use or recommend."

Franchise Sales Associate.......

 "It was a pleasure working with Chris as a RE/MAX franchise owner. Always professional and dedicated to both his employees and his business, he takes great pride in the quality and reputation of his work and that of his team. Chris' high levels of performance and results have built him a reputation that speaks for itself."

Harbor Towers Owner..........

"We used Chris when returning to Boston after a 6-year absence. During those years, he kept us current on waterfront property sales; filtering out all but those in our price range and target locations. Chris is a professional, low-key, advsior and agent. We will gladly refer him to others. 

Home Buyer.........

 "I have had the opportunity to work with Chris over the years. He has been a customer of mine for a long time and has always been loyal and on the ball. I had the opportunity to work on the other side and be a customer of his recently. I was impressed with his knowledge of real-estate and follow through. Although I did not get to work with him on the property I would use him in the future for sure. I highly recommend Chris and his company for any real-estate needs and I feel he is the “go to” person for purchasing real-estate in NewEngland period! You will not be disappointed having him represents you I guarantee it.

Home Sales

Home prices rose in November to rack up their best yearly gain since the housing crisis began, a further sign that the sector is on the mend.

But data on consumer confidence on Tuesday was less encouraging, with moods falling to their lowest level in more than a year as Americans became more pessimistic about the economic outlook and their financial prospects.

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 0.6 percent in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, in line with economists' forecasts.

Prices in the 20 cities rose 5.5 percent year over year, making for the strongest yearly price increase since August 2006 when prices were on their way down.

"This is continuing a trend in place for the better part of a year," said Omair Sharif, U.S. economist at RBS Securities in New York. "This is another indication that the housing rebound is fairly entrenched at this point."

The housing market became a bright spot for the economy last year as prices rose and inventory tightened. The sector is expected to contribute to economic growth in 2013, though a number of challenges remain, including tight access to mortgages and on-going foreclosures.

It was the 10th month in a row that prices have increased, the longest string of gains since before 2006. Last year's rise in prices beat a nine-month consecutive run in 2009 and 2010, when the market was boosted by a homebuyer tax credit.

Separate data from The Conference Board showed an index of consumer attitudes fell to 58.6 in January from an upwardly revised 66.7 the month before, falling short of economists' expectations for 64. It was the lowest level since November 2011.

At the start of the year, U.S. politicians came to an agreement that averted the so-called fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax increases that had been set to come into effect.

But the deal did raise taxes for many Americans, while a payroll tax holiday came to an end. Also, a number of budget decisions remain.

"Consumers are probably pretty unhappy to notice that their payroll taxes have gone up," said David Sloan, economist at 4Cast Ltd in New York.

U.S. stocks pared slight gains immediately after the report was released, while the euro rose to a session high against the dollar.

The expectations index tumbled to its lowest level since October 2011 at 59.5 from 68.1. The present situation measure slipped to 57.3 from 64.6.

Consumers' views on the labor market were also weaker, with the "jobs hard to get" index rising for the first time since September.

Home prices on a non-adjusted basis slipped 0.1 percent. The non-adjusted numbers showed prices fell in about half of the cities covered by the survey, with the winter months typically a weak period for housing, the survey said.

Phoenix, which saw its housing market rebound sharply last year, led with the biggest yearly gain at 22.8 percent. New York was the only city to fall, down 1.2 percent from the previous year.

Boston Waterfront Real Estate Sales

Boston Waterfront 2012 Year End Summary

Boston Real Estate For Sale

Massachusetts Real Estate Figures

Great news for the Boston housing market as the sales here lead the charge

Pending home sales for single-family homes and condominiums were up in December, marking the 20^thconsecutive month of year-over-year increases, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR).

The number of single-family homes put under agreement in December was up 15.6 percent compared with the same time last year - 3,062 homes in 2012 compared with 2,648 homes in 2011.

The number of condos put under agreement in December was up 5.6 percent compared with December 2011 - 1,076 units in 2012 versus 1,019 units in 2011.

For the entire year, the number of single-family homes put under agreement in 2012 was up 25 percent over 2011, MAR reported today. Pending sales figures, also called homes under agreement, are a leading indicator of actual housing sales in Massachusetts for the following two to three months.

What to do??

Real Estate Gambling: What Purchasers are Considering

Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare on printMore Sha