The NYC residential real estate market has now entered into a flat/uncertain/declining market depending upon the price, neighborhood and other factors. In this market, buyers move slowly and it is imperative to have a price that is designed to grab interest and invite competitive bids. The price is the most important part of the listing. With that in mind, here are six reasons why it’s important to price a home right from the beginning:
- You Will Get a Higher Price– Pricing right from day one frequently results in multiple offers. Numerous data studies show that the longer a home remains on the market, the less money it will fetch when it finally does sell. As days on the market increase, the data shows that the gap between the listing price and sale price has a higher disparity.
- Less Time On the Market- The period of best opportunity for the highest offer on your home is within the first four weeks after it is put on the market. The buyers who have been waiting for a home like yours will want to see it right away. The longer your home stays on the market, the worse the offers will be.
- Price Reductions Don’t Generate Same Interest as Posting Correctly on Day 1– You only have one shot as a new listing. In addition, the current market is cluttered with daily price reductions. Many buyers may miss your price reduction.
- Excitement/Higher Demand– The first few weeks represent the excitement period for a new listing. If a home is worth $490,000 but is priced at $525,000 then you are losing demand and the excitement that comes with pricing it under $500,000. It’s very important to be aware of the key numbers on the search engines. If not, you may miss a segment of buyers. Paying attention to key numbers such as $500,000 or $1,000,000 is very important in the digital age.
- Buyers Have Access to the Same Information– Buyers are very sophisticated in the online age. They are aware of the same comps. A home that is overpriced can scare buyers away as they think the seller may be unreasonable.
- Leverage– How long has the home been on the market? Buyers ask this question as they want to know the likelihood a seller will negotiate and by how much. The general hypothesis with most buyers is the longer a home is on the market, the most negotiating room there should be. This is why pricing a home correctly from the beginning is so critical.