Christina Rordam: Pricing your home in today's market

Wow! What a whirlwind the Orlando real estate market has been these past few years! As an Orlando area Realtor I’m as happy as any homeowner to see home values and inventory stabilize. We are commonly seeing multiple offers and with a local housing supply of just over 5 months most would agree the market is geared toward sellers. Inventory is up however, with 10,184 homes listed as of February in Central Florida. That’s a 44 percent increase from February 2013. Even though sellers still hold an overall advantage in the Central Florida real estate marketplace, buyers also have options now, making pricing your home competitively more important than ever.

More homes for sale equals more competition.

Now that prices are up 19 percent over last year more non-distressed home sellers are placing their homes on the market. When you are the only home on the block for sale you can call all the shots. When your next-door neighbor and the family two doors down are also selling you’ll want to choose the right strategy when picking a price for your home. Your home will never be more appealing to buyers than in its first few days on the market so price it right from the start for maximum profit.

Fight the attraction to overprice.

You may be tempted to pad your list price when selling your home. Use caution with this tactic. If you overstate your home’s value too much buyers and their agents may assume you are unrealistic and pass your home by. Equally damaging, your higher asking price may add the appearance of value to homes in the area priced more realistically. Often times what we Realtors see is when a home is priced in line with local neighborhood values the owner will receive several offers and end up getting their asking price if not more.

React quickly if you aren’t seeing traction.

If you do decide to list above what you feel your home is worth in an attempt to give buyers room to negotiate, don’t leave it overpriced for long. If you’ve got the price right you’ll most likely see showings and offers the first week if not the second. If you’re not, something is wrong and it’s most likely price. Speak with your Realtor and review the recent sales in your area, then adjust the price. It doesn’t have to be a fire sale situation; just make an adjustment toward where you need to be.

Numbers matter.

Last but not least think of the numbers in your price. For example, you’ll appear in front of more buyers at $379,000 versus $381,000. Many homeowners will begin their home search as far out as a year and set up alerts on third party sites for homes in the price range they want to spend. If their search is up to $380,000 and you are asking $381,000 for your home or $384,900, they may not even see you.

Being proactive is usually more lucrative than being reactive.