Back in 2014 an article, Things Real-Estate Agents Won’t Tell You, was published in The Wall Street Journal. In this series of blog posts, I’m going to address some suppositions from the article.

“Your home isn’t worth as much as you think.”  The author suggests agents won’t tell you your home is worth less than you think. 

I think this premise is FALSE because a good real estate agent will do research, and based on that research and their experience and knowledge of the LOCAL market, they will provide realistic pricing guidance.  It is true that some sellers think their home is their castle and let emotion and pride cloud their pricing decision and some agents (typically those who are new, inexperienced, or desperate) will let the seller overprice their home.

SELLER beware! If you talk to several real estate agents and one says he/she can sell your home for MORE than the others (and of course you’d like to get more) it may be that agent is desperate for business, knows the price is unrealistic, but just wants to get his sign out in front of a home.

If you and your agent seem far apart on what your home might sell for, you could pay for an appraisal to be done prior to listing the home to settle the issue. At the end of the day, unless you find a cash buyer who doesn’t mind paying extra for your home (not likely!), your home will have to appraise for the agreed on sales price.

My advice is don’t price your home too high!

  • Agents representing buyers will protect their buyer’s interest by guiding them toward homes that are priced right.  Yours may not even get shown.
  • Buyers who could afford your home are using a search engine, setting a price range, and if your home is overpriced, it may never show up in their search results. 
  • Buyers who can afford to pay the price you are asking won’t look at your home because it compares poorly to homes that truly should be in that price range.
  • If you overprice your home, not only will it take longer to sell but ironically, you’ll probably make less. 

When you are ready to sell contact me and let us do a comparative market analysis. Look at the research we present regarding comparable properties, ask questions, and even if difficult, set aside sentiment.