Mixing the Right Ingredients for a Sale

08.23.10 by

Mixing the Right Ingredients for a Sale

There are three basic ingredients in the recipe for selling your Stuart, Florida home: location, condition, and price.  Sellers can’t control the location and have some control on condition but have the most control over that final ingredient, price.  If a home isn’t selling after a couple of months, that element will likely need some adjustment.

Generally, if your home isn’t selling in the average amount of time that others on the market are, overpricing is the probable culprit.  Deciding how much to adjust your asking price will depend on a reevaluation of your local neighborhood market.

Even if you’re confident that you priced fairly and correctly from the beginning, you may find yourself overpriced if local conditions in your Stuart, Florida neighborhood have declined or not seen any recent improvement.  Now may be the time to consult with your real estate agent and ask for a new CMA, or Comparative Market Analysis.

The CMA will report the current asking prices, current selling prices, and prices for homes whose listings have expired.  Forget about comparing asking prices, because the market has not yet shown if those will sell or not.

Prices at which homes did sell are a good figure to heed, but you’ll also learn a lot from the prices at which homes did not sell, or expired.  After your agent’s explanation of the CMA, make sure your new price reduction is in line with final sales prices and well below the expired listing prices.

Would you like a check on the current value of your Treasure Coast Florida property?  You can request one here.

the Gabe Sanders real estate team

Residential Homes, Condos and Land
Waterfront and Golf Course Communities in Martin and Saint Lucie Counties

For more information about Florida’s Treasure Coast Real Estate, visit us at:

Search the MLS for Free

Now you can access the MLS using similar tools as Realtors. You are in control of what you want to search for, and you can search the MLS at your leisure. The information you submit in the form below can also be used to put you on an automated system where you’ll be emailed all homes that meet your search criteria. You’ll get internet access to a website that includes pictures, prices, and addresses to real estate that’s listed in the MLS!

Stuart Florida Real Estate

Call 772-323-6996 for information

A Lesson For Sellers (From Buyers)

09.19.09 by
If you’ve found the right home, how can you be certain you aren’t paying too much? Once you make your choice, it’s quite likely you’ve also become well informed about property values. How is this so? Because before you made that choice, you probably looked at a variety of homes, possibly as many as six to twelve properties. That’s called “comparison shopping.”
As you visited each home, you made value judgments based on the size, features, and amenities offered, as well as the condition of the homes. Without realizing it, you compared prices, looking for the greatest value for your dollar. Nevertheless, another aspect of your purchase further protects you from purchasing an overpriced home. Called an “appraisal,” it’s a required step in the mortgage approval process. Your mortgage lender, who is putting up the majority share of the purchase price, also wants to be sure the home is not priced above the market.Thus, the lender asks a licensed appraiser to determine the home’s value for the record. If the appraised value does not at least meet the purchase price, the lender may not approve the loan or, at the very least, may ask for a higher down payment.

As the buyer, however, it’s easy to spot the overpriced homes. They are the ones that have been on the market for some time – but remain unsold.
Residential Homes, Condos and Land
Waterfront and Golf Course Communities
in Martin and Saint Lucie Counties

Sell Your Home Fast or Sell It for Less

07.18.09 by

When facing a mortgage default, most homeowners try to sell their homes – fast. The technique that works in these stressful situations also works for the rest of the sellers – namely, aggressive pricing.

As a seller, you control the three factors that determine how quickly your home will sell: marketing, condition, and price. Let’s focus on that last element.

First, be clear about your goals. Can you hold out for the highest price you can get, or do you want to move on quickly? Unfortunately, the fact that you paid more than what homes in your neighborhood are selling for is irrelevant in today’s market.

Forget about salvaging equity, and price your home aggressively against the competition. Overpricing keeps many buyers from even seeing your listing in their affordability zone. They’ll see lower-priced homes as a better value, while you’ll wait until the lowballers come out of the woodwork.

Start your pricing decision with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) performed by your real estate representative. If you’re truly motivated to sell quickly, price your home 10% lower than the selling (not asking) prices of other homes in your area.

Now your home becomes a bargain, and it will attract the attention of other agents and their qualified buyers. An attractive price, good condition and savvy marketing will result in offers and ultimately, a sale.

If you’re planning to sell your home and would like accurate and up-to-date information on its current value, visit our website GabeSanders.com or call us at (772) 888-2885.

Turn Those Red Flags Green

04.17.09 by

When selling a home, two situations may occur which are red flag indicators of a lengthy sale time. Each requires the property owners’ attention in cooperation with their sales agent, and involves either the price or condition of the home.

The first involves a home that has been on the market for 60-90 days, but has been shown only once or twice. More buyers are beginning to enter today’s real estate market, and homes for sale should be attracting a number of prospects.

When buyers choose not to tour a home, the reason is often the price. Homes that are attractive, but not being shown, are often priced “above” the market. The key to increased showings, then, is to learn the market price of the home, then reset the price.

The second “red flag” occurs when a home is being shown often, but neither sells nor attracts offers. The home’s condition is often the culprit in this situation. Buyers learn the price, then drive by, making a judgment that it is an attractive home. Once they see the home, however, their interest evaporates.

The solution can be a critical “walk-through” by the sellers’ agent to identify needed repairs and cosmetic improvements. Until corrected, traffic is likely to remain high, while the chances of selling remain low. Remove these red flags and prepare for a sale!

If you’re planning to sell your home soon and would like accurate and up to date information on its current value, give us a call at (772) 323-6996 or visit us on the web at www.GabeSanders.com or www.TreasureCoastFLHomes.com. Our office is located at 2391 SE Ocean Blvd. in Stuart, Florida; please ask for Gabe Sanders.