If you’re a home seller, one of the most important things you can know is that what a home is worth and what a buyer might be willing to pay for it are two different things.
If you’ve tried to sell your home in the past but failed, you know this all too well. I talk to several homeowners a day who’s listings have either expired or been canceled, and most of the time I ask them if they’d consider putting their home back on the market if I can get them the price they want.
Their usual answer goes something like “Robert, thank you very much, but I already know what my home is worth.” My response? What your home is worth isn’t always what you can sell it for.
Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about.
The weekend before last, I met with a client of mine in the Tustin area who wanted to sell their home. I did the research going into this meeting and knew what comparable homes in the area had been selling for. When I crunched the numbers for him and factored in all the important details (what was going on in the area, the condition of the property, the time of year, the current inventory, and how the home actually showed), my opinion was that the home was worth anywhere from $720,000 to $725,000.
However, what I think a home is worth doesn’t matter. What matters is what it can sell for. After I gave this client my estimate of their home’s value, I told them what was most important to them was what a buyer is willing to pay for it. That’s when I started talking about my marketing strategy and how I planned to prepare the home for sale.
“What matters is what your home can sell for.”
If you’re paying attention to our market, you know that inventory is historically low and there aren’t a lot of options for buyers. In other words, it’s a hot seller’s market. Technically, you could put a home on the market and sell it really quickly.
Would you be leaving money on the table, though? When people hire my team and me to sell their home, we make sure they get maximum value for their property. We don’t want them to leave any money on the table.
After I told my client that their home was worth anywhere from $720,000 to $725,000 on paper, I told them that if they had faith in my team and me to list their home, we could sell it for anywhere between $740,000 and $760,000. That’s when I got their attention. They knew I meant business.
If you’re considering putting your home back on the market and you’re curious how we prepare homes for sale and market them so they sell for the most money possible, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to speak with you.
