Myth #1: You should always price your home high and negotiate down. Truth: Starting out too high rarely is the best way for a seller to go. If you list too high, you'll miss out on buyers looking in the price range where your home should be. Offers may not even come, because they are scared off by the price. By the time you correct the price and list your home at its fair market value, you will have lost that new listing window of opportunity when your home draws the most attention from the public and real estate agents.
Myth #2: There are many ways of guides to an asking price. Truth: Similar, nearby, recent, closed sales are the only truthful guide to follow. Your buyer won’t accept:
Myth #3: Overpriced property can sell—if it’s heavily advertised. Truth: There is huge power to the MLS and online advertising, but print advertising has diminished in importance, and advertising alone doesn’t sell anything. Properties priced over their fair market value will not attract as many buyers as they should, take longer to sell, make competing properties look good, become “shopworn,” cause buyers to bring ‘low-ball’ offers, cause sellers to lose valuable time buying their dream home, or even end up causing the home to sell below market value in order to make up for all of the above.
Myth #4: Buyers will be able to see past a ‘lived-in’ look. Truth: You have only one chance to make a 1st impression—and 1st impressions, in any market, matter heavily. If it’s a home or town home, the exterior should make a good buyers feel compelled to stop and come inside. And, for any type of property, the interior must sparkle—it must appear, not as the home YOU live in, but rather as the home your BUYERS can picture themselves living in.
Myth #5: Minor repairs can wait until later. There are more important things to be done. Truth: If your property needs repair, that WILL affect its value. Most buyers are looking for homes that are ready for them to move into. If your home happens to attract a buyer who is willing to make repairs, he/she will want a price reduction that comes out of your asking price.
Myth #6: Quick offers can be turned down—they’re a sign a better offer is coming. Truth: The first buyer in could be your best buyer. If the first week of a listing produced lots of showing requests and multiple offers, of course there’s a reason to hold firm on price—but, unless a market is red hot, few sellers ever benefit by turning down a good offer on the hope of a better one. In fact, quite often the first offer a seller gets is the best offer they will ever get!