Lifestylevisuals | E+ | Getty Images
To sell your home, you don’t just need to put up a “for sale” sign.
According to Joel Berner, a senior economist at Realtor.com, it’s important to get a good asking price, such as knowing the market situation, preparing your home for an exhibition, and determining what to do with a real estate agent.
Otherwise, your home will be sitting in the market for a long time and he said that in the end, he will have to cut prices anyway.
“It’s really important to get the price right to get started,” Burner said.
More details from personal finance:
Rules for repaying Social Security benefits are likely to be stricter
Here’s how rent can make or destroy your credits
What does FHA layoffs mean for home buyers?
Zillow’s home trend expert Amanda Pendleton agreed, saying priced homes tend to sell in a few weeks. They can remain on the market for more than two months, she said.
According to experts, if you are trying to sell your home, here are things to consider.
What’s going on in the housing market?
This year, the home sale list is featured. This could create a more competitive environment for home sellers, as buyers can choose more options, Burner said.
The new list for the week ending March 1st is up 0.1% compared to the previous week, growing for the eighth consecutive week, Realtor.com found. In February, sales inventory rose 27.5% from a year ago, according to the site’s monthly housing report.
Meanwhile, the home has been on the market for longer while sellers are forced to lower home prices. The average time a listing spends on the market is up to 66 days, over five days since February last year, the highest since February 2020.
In February, a monthly report from Realtor.com showed that 16.8% of listings had a price cut, an increase of 2.2 points compared to last year, showing its highest activity in February since 2021.
A January report from the National Association of Realtors showed a decline in homes sold above the asking price (15% vs. 16% of the previous month and year). Meanwhile, the listed homes received an average of 2.6 offers from buyers. This is flat from 2.1 to 2.7 from 1 month ago.
Jessica Lautz, assistant chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said it is not the same seller market as in the past few years.
How to get the price right
To accurately understand the value of the property and determine a reasonable list price, Burner encourages home sellers to investigate recent sales of comparable homes and focus on properties with similar sizes, amenities and condition.
To prevent you from selling your home, decide how much stock you will need from the sale to cover your next home’s down payment, closing costs and travel expenses, Burner said.
“If you’re really afraid of sinking and have the option of not listing your home, that would be the right option,” Burner said.
For general ideas about your home’s value, an online home price estimator, also known as an automated valuation model, can help. According to Bankrate, such tools use algorithms and published data to estimate the value of properties.
However, please note that this estimate may only be useful in the form of a stadium. Experts should be careful. AVMs rely on public records and if they have not been updated yet, the data may not reflect home renovations or changes, Bankrate noted.
A professional home appraiser or real estate agent can come to your home, see the upgrades you have created, and provide a more detailed rating, Lautz said.
“I’ll hire an experienced local agent who knows your neighborhood like the back of my hand,” Pendleton said.
