A Real Estate Q&A: Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction?

Posted on June 28th, 2012

Let?s play a Real Estate ?Question & Answer? game. But instead of the typical ?Fact or Fiction,? this has a bit of a twist ? a ?Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction? game?. And the reason I put it this way is because it seems in real estate that there is always an exception to the rule. This is often the result of the emotions and choices that buyers and sellers make that don?t always make financial or practical sense thus resulting in real estate transactions that don?t always proceed in the way in which we expect.

So here is a list of questions that are either ?Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction,? and I can?t wait to see what you think. ?But before we start, just one last thing ? these answers are based on our current state of the market. We have not had our peak performing real estate years of late, and our economy is unpredictable and still has some instability, and so these questions and answers are coming from that perspective. And now, on to the game:

• Most of the time, the first offer is the best. Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction? Mostly Fact. You have probably heard this countless times, and it is indeed true. Almost always the first offer is the best. ?This is due in large part to the fact that buyers discount homes the longer they sit on the market, and generally offers don?t come in within consecutive days of one another. There is usually a lag time between offers, which means buyers will continue to discount the price of the home as the days on the market accrue.

• Location is just as important as price. Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction? Mostly Fiction. Location is certainly quite important. In fact, I?m sure you?ve heard that old adage over and over again, ?Location, location, location.? But the truth is ? price is hand?s down the most important factor when it comes to selling a home. Buyers need to feel, see and experience a perceived value in the home, and when they do, they buy!

• There?s no such thing as underpricing a home. Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction? Mostly Fact. Or at least theoretically this should be mostly fact. If a home is underpriced, then multiple buyers will perceive such value in the home that they will all jump in to put in an offer. This will result in a bidding war, which ultimately forces up the price of the home to the ?real? market price. The problem with this question, however, is that you can?t really prove the hypothesis. ?Because once you?ve set a price, you don?t get a second chance to set another, higher price to see if you ultimately end up with the same sale price.

• A buyer who falls passionately in love with a house results in a higher price for the seller. Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction? Mostly Fact. We don?t see this too much these days, however. Buyers are ultra sensitive about overpaying for a home today. They don?t want to pay more than they should and then be faced with the potential challenge of re-selling the home in the future when there is no way to predict how the economy and real estate market will be at that time.

• A seller ends up with more money if she initially prices her house at a higher price to test the market. Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction? This is actually 100% Fiction. The best way for a seller to maximize her sale price is to price her house competitively from the start ? to follow the ?Price to Sell Strategy.? Buyers then feel, see and experience the?perceived value in the house and act quickly ? Mission Accomplished.

Finally as we like to say in our listing presentations, the rule of thumb, which also happens to be 100% Fact, is that the seller sets the asking price, but the market (one or more buyers) sets the selling price for the home.

And now back to you. Have you seen some of these real estate questions and answers first-hand? And what are your thoughts about this real estate Q&A game??I can?t wait to hear?.

For more information about the real estate market in?Weston, ?Wellesley, ?Wayland and the surrounding towns or if you are considering selling your home, please contact me,?Lisa Curlett (781-267-2844 orwww.homesalesbylisa.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.

Source: http://www.homesalesbylisa.com/buying-a-home/a-real-estate-qa-mostly-fact-or-mostly-fiction/

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