Real Estate Perspectives
March 04, 2019 | Suzanne Powers

How to Get the Best Price for Your Home

Getting top dollar for your Milwaukee Home should be easy in a seller’s market…but only if your home is in move in ready condition! Buyers are not satisfied with fixers and repairs. Make sure your home is in move in ready condition for this market!
How to Get the Best Price for Your Home

How to Get the Best Price for Your Home

Pricing a home may appear to be a simple task. Observe the last 6 months of comparable sales in your neighborhood, go to Zillow and get a Zestimate and price your home accordingly, right?

Perhaps it used to be that simple, but there has been a very big shift in buyer preferences in the housing market over the last five years that makes pricing a home more difficult today. The big “it” factor is now condition. Buyers want a home in a move-in ready condition much more over the location, and the condition can be subjective.  Getting a thorough assessment from a real estate broker to help price your home accordingly in today’s changing market will be essential to every seller’s success. No computer generated home pricing model can price your home on the “now”, for that you will need a visit from a local real estate expert.

So what does a real estate broker observe in pricing a home that a computer-generated analysis cannot do? Here is a helpful checklist for sellers on pricing your home as we move into a changing market:

A. Price Your Home on “The Now”!

    This is my favorite expression to sellers when completing a market analysis of a prospective seller’s home. Pricing on the now means the broker observes the current market conditions to price your home. For example: If I am invited to a Wauwatosa home to price a home, I am using past sales as a benchmark, but I am pricing the home on the current market conditions. This is a more accurate way to help the seller’s get their best price. If I am listing a home for $349,900 and there are 10 other homes in Wauwatosa at $349,900, I am may go below the current market value to generate my seller’s an offer against the competition. If there is only one other comparable sale, and the sellers have a great property, I may be more aggressive to get them above market value. When you price on the now you get the best results for the seller because you observing the current market conditions and not only past sales history to price the home correctly.

    B. Time Your Home Sale

      Milwaukee’s spring market begins January 1st of every year and ends May 31st, right around Memorial Day Weekend. If you miss this window to sell your home, you may be looking at a much lower price or a longer sales process than you anticipated. Summer home sales in the Milwaukee Metro Area are slow. They will be especially slow in the summer of 2019 because we had a very tough winter. Wisconsinites play in the summer. The two best times of the year to list your home are early spring (January to March) and early fall after the kids go back to school.

      C. Prepare your Home

        The condition is so important right now and unfortunately for sellers, a very subjective observation.  A computer-generated market analysis based on square footage and location will most likely be inaccurate because it cannot assess condition. Making an educated, well-informed observation on your home’s condition is a key factor in pricing your home correctly today and requires a seasoned human consultation. A top producing broker who shows several homes a day in your market will have the knowledge you need to price the home accurately. Experience is the key here.

        I have several blogs on preparing your home for sale and staging that offer helpful tips for sellers.

        https://www.powersrealty.com/home-improvement-payoff/seven-must-do-home-selling-prep-tips/

        https://www.powersrealty.com/home-improvement-payoff/7-hot-tips-to-get-your-home-ready-for-winter/

        Every buyer wants a move-in ready condition. The condition of your home supersedes location now as the number one driver in a successful sale. This is the big shift and you do have to play to get your best price. So, get out the paint and neutralize every room of your home. Make sure you fix every little repair. Have a realtor consult with you on paint, clutter, junk removal, and staging.

        D. Listen to the Pricing Advice of Your Realtor

          When you are ready to move onto the next phase of your life, price the home based on the advice of your broker and the current market conditions. Remember that the housing market changes every day. Microeconomic local changes can have a big impact on your sale. New school referendums that raise taxes, big news stories about environmental changes locally, increased levels of crime, and falling school rankings impact your home sale. Your real estate broker will inform you of the pros and cons of each of these local developments and advise you accordingly.

          2019 marks the beginning of a changing real estate market. This will be a watershed year for the real estate industry. It is important that sellers get out early to get their best price in what may be their best price for years to come. Luxury sales throughout the Metro Milwaukee area are soft. Be aggressive with your price if you are above $500,000 and make sure you have a seasoned broker handling the sale of your home. Listen to your broker on pricing strategy to have the best success and prepare your home for sale to get the best price for your home.

          Experience a seamless home selling and buying process with Powers Realty, Milwaukee’s trusted local experts for over 2 decades. Our tailored approach ensures optimal results. Contact me today to discuss your home needs.

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