This Week In Real Estate - July 16th Edition; Dangers of Overpricing

Only two things sell homes guys - Price and Marketing. Period. Location is an important factor of course but in Brentwood, and Maplewood we live in great areas of the St.louis market; so lets remove that factor. What is marketing? That is what you pay your agent to do. A listing agents job is to market your home on the MLS, internet, and media, negotiate contracts between the buyer's agent and you the home seller. And then there's price.

So you choose your Real Estate agents based on which one gives you the highest price in your listing appointment?! Thats about as smart as darting across Hanley road blindfolded at 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon. Unfortunately there are many misconceptions in real estate today and the biggest is the over priced listing. I here it all of the time, "If it doesn't sell at my price then we can do a price reduction in a few weeks. It can't hurt right?" Most everyone would like to get top dollar for their homes, and only few can remove the emotion and be objective. One important thing to remember is that there is not any real estate agent that unequivocally knows what your house will sell for. It is also important to choose your agent based upon skill, knowledge of the area, and services offered to get your home sold. It is your job as a seller to choose the price that is best for you based upon the recommendation that your local expert agent relays to you through a Comparative Market Analysis.

So what is the danger you say? First it is going to take a longer time to get your home sold if it even sells at all. Second - put yourself in the buyers shoes; if two homes near each other are similar in every way except price how could they justify paying more for your house?! Moreover it has to fall in line with the neighborhood if the buyer is getting a loan appraisal done. If an appraiser says the home is worth less than the contracted price then the buyer can walk away or negotiate to a lower price. Most importantly overpriced listings don't get much buyer traffic no matter how good your agent is. More than 50% of the home's buyer traffic will come in the first two weeks, and is truly critical marketing time. If the home is overpriced and becomes stale to the market you will have to convince buyers to come see your home by enticing them through price reductions.

My advise - trust the numbers in your market and the advice of a really honest agent.



Here's a quick snapshot of what our market has done from 7.9.13 through 7.16.13:

For Maplewood this past week:
- 0 homes closed
- 1 went under contract
- 2 new listing

- 1 home failed to sell and were taken off the market

The price points ranged from $34,900 to $399,900

For Richmond Heights this past week:
- 2 homes closed
- 1 went under contract
- 3 new listings

- 2 homes failed to sell and were taken off the market

The price points ranged from $159,900 to $399,900

For Brentwood this past week:
- 2 homes closed
- 3 went under contract
- 4 new listing

- 1 homes failed to sell and were taken off the market

The price points ranged from $119,000 to $549,000

Questions? Call or Email me!
Joshua Horn

Coldwell Banker Premier Group
314-448-3247
STLHomeSales@Live.com