Pricing a home correctly to sell is key! And I’ll show you why. Recently, while preparing a comparative market analysis for a couple, I came across a home at 53 Clarendon (pictured above) in Clarendon Heights which exemplifies why it is so important to price your home right from the beginning. This home was purchased in an estates sale in October of 2008 for $2,210,000. It was a fixer at the time. The person who bought it attempted to “flip” it and put it on the market seven months later in May of 2009 after renovating it. The list price? $3,485,000. It was withdrawn after 69 days on the market. Again, in September of ’09, the seller put it on the market, reducing the price by $486,000 to $2,999,000. The listing expired after 55 days. The seller gave up and put it back on the market two years later in August of 2011 for $100,000 less at $2,899,000. It was withdrawn after 132 days.
Last year in an exceptional market where most properties sold under competitive bid situations substantially over their asking prices, this home was put back on the market in May for $3,995,000. It stayed on the market for 175 days and was withdrawn. Finally, this January, the price was reduced by $800,000 and put back on the market for $3,195,000 and sold at the end of January for $3,140,000 – $55,000 less than the asking price. At the end of the day, if the seller had priced this property right from the beginning, he very likely would have done much better and saved himself a lot of trouble.
For this reason, I emphasize with potential sellers the importance of pricing it right. The most attention is given to a property in the first 30 days of a listing, so it is important to price the home in a way that will attract the most interest and get the highest and best price. Believe me you are not giving anything away – I will negotiate the best price for you, and that is easiest if we generate interest and a competitive bid situation.
If you would like me to help you get the best price for your home, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
