Mistakes to avoid when pricing houses for sale in Howard County MD
If you are planning to sell your home, pricing it right will be your biggest challenge. Most people who put their houses up for sale in Howard County MD try to implement home pricing strategies that can do more harm than good. They think they can make a bigger profit by upscaling and downscaling, but when it comes to selling a home, you don’t get many opportunities to experiment and correct your mistakes. You can lose thousands of dollars in one deal.
Too many home sellers fall prey to myths about home pricing that seem to make sense at first, but don’t jibe with the reality of real estate markets today. Here are a few of these myths you should avoid:
Myth#1: You are going make a good profit (without analyzing the market)
Many sellers put their houses up for sale in Howard County MD without analyzing their local real estate market. They read about national real estate trends and rate of appreciation in values and jump to the conclusion that they would smile all the way to the bank after selling their homes. Nothing can be further from the truth. The home values in Howard, Carroll, Montgomery and Baltimore counties vary and are wide apart.
Local economic factors have a great deal of impact on how much profit you will make by selling your Howard County home. You should know details such as the average number of days that homes are staying on the market, median home price and rate of appreciation in values to ascertain if it’s the right time to sell your home.
Myth#2: Every renovation and remodeling work will add value
If you spend thousands of dollars on renovating and remodeling your home hoping that you can later add the cost to the price, you are in for a big disappointment. These renovations and remodeling can help you to sell your home faster, but you may not recoup this money in full when you sell.
If you intend on remodeling prior to selling, consult your realtor first to see what are the hot buttons and what is adding the most value to your home. This includes color schemes, tile and flooring type, kitchen cabinets, counter tops, etc..
Myth#3: You should price your home high
If you overprice your home, it will stay on the market for months or may not sell at all. This strategy will actually bring your home’s value down. Surprised?
Many sellers believe that they should price their home on the high end in the beginning and lower it if they received no offer. If a home that doesn’t sell for months—or has undergone one or more price reductions—this gives the impression to buyers that something must be wrong with it. When in fact, it just may have been priced to high to begin with.
Myth#4: You should never price your home low
If you price your home low, it will be devastating in most situations. But this strategy can pay off big-time if you implement it with caution. Low-priced homes drum up tons of interest, which could result in a bidding war that could drive your home’s price-past what you ever thought it was worth. A home’s worth is set by to factors: one, what the comps say and two, what the market and buyer are willing to pay.
Conclusion
A lot of consideration should go into your home pricing strategy. By pricing your home right, you will be able to sell your home fast and for top dollar.