We all have dream numbers in mind when we start to think about selling our homes and, in a perfect world, they would all sell for that amount every single time. Sadly, that’s just not how things work and listing your home at a price that’s too high can have negative impacts on the selling process. Similarly, pricing it low is not always the right strategy either. When we work with clients on listing their homes, coming up with the right asking price is an important step and one we don’t take lightly. Here are some of the factors we take into account…
1. We Do Our Research
Whether it’s a fabulous, newly-renovated home or a dilapidated tear-down, it’s always important to do your research. This means not only considering the home itself but also taking a look at the surroundings. Is this a tear-down in a fabulous, highly sought-after neighbourhood? Or is it a fabulous home in a less than desirable area? What have similar homes in the neighbourhood sold for? What were they listed for? Are there any other active listings in the neighbourhood? If it’s a condo, what did other units sell for and were those units the same size and layout and how do they compare visually? Without looking into direct comparisons, it is simply impossible to come up with a realistic asking price.
2. We Consider Things from the Buyer’s Point of View
Most of us, for good reason, have emotional attachment to our homes and as wonderful as this is, it can make us blind. What we mean by this is that certain “charming” little details that you’ve grown to love with years of happy memories can look like flaws and problems to a potential buyer. When listing your home, you always have to look at how things will appear to an outsider who has absolutely no emotional attachment to your home. What may be valuable to you, might be worthless to a buyer and you have to bear that in mind when considering an appropriate asking price. In addition to this, it’s important to consider how people search for new homes. Sure, some leave it in the hands of an agent but many will hop on realtor.ca, set a few parameters and do a preliminary search. With that said, think about who your home will appeal to and what their price range is, realistically. List your home too high, qualified potential buyers may never find it. List it too low, unqualified buyers may waste your time.
3. We Look at Current Market Trends
Even though your neighbourhood may change very little year to year, the market is always changing. If you’ve been following along with our newsletters, you’ll know that certain themes like supply issues, rising interest rates, COVID and immigration are all factors that are affecting the market greatly right now. That said, a year from now we could be looking at a very different landscape. Being up-to-date on market trends is the difference between knowing what you want to get for your home versus knowing what you can get.
