Pricing your House in Louisville
Pricing your house in Louisville.
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This guide should give you a unique perspective on pricing your house in Louisville. Louisville is my market and my hometown, so I am writing from that point of view. However, these principles should also hold true in your local market. Houses sell due to two main factors pricing, and location. These two big ingredients often balance each other out, price it too high in the wrong neighborhood and it will never sell. Priced low in a great location, and you will be seen as the deal of the century. |
 Image by Anthony Easton |
Pricing it right for your market.
Everyone knows the typical strategies for pricing a home. You get the comps. You or your realtor will check prices of recently sold houses in your neighborhood, then look at other nearby listings. After you analyze the houses, comparing amenites and square footage, you determine the listing price.
But we can do more. Lets start applying some real estate strategy used by top professionals. To do this we need to do some research:
- 1. Visit GLAR(Greater Louisville Association of Realtors) -http://louisvillerealtors.com
Don't worry, this pops open a new window, you won't lose your place.
See that slider to the right that defines price range? If you drag it you will notice it moves in $50,000.00 increments. Many other sites operate on the same principle, the biggest search factor is price, and that price is in $50k slices.
My Pricing Strategy.
Okay so we are armed with our comps, and ready to price the home. We know which $50k slot that we want to be in. Now lets consider how searchers are going to find us. When they hit that search button, we are either going to be at the top, or buried in the results. The advice I have always been told, is to price high in your category. If you are in the $300-350k range, set your price to $349,999.00. This logic is good, since most results are automatically sorted from high to low. Pricing with this strategy is a time honored one that leads to success. But it is not the be all end all strategy that it once was. To price our home right, we need to start thinking like a buyer, not a seller.
Think like a buyer.
Image by Gio Vanni
Today's buyer has more on their mind that just what the house already has. Many of us like to think of what we can do to it. More and more people are shopping with this mentality. They have been given a budget from their bank, and they intend to use that money to purchase their home, and make some changes to it. So buyers are more likely to re-order their search results, low to high. They are shopping in their range, but they are thinking, "I want to stay on the low side". That way they can maybe get the neighborhood they want, but they also get room to make the home theirs.
With this mindset I am telling you that you can price your home, just over the mark, contrary to popular belief. With a sale price like $300,500.00 you can not only place first when the results are sorted low to high, but you will seem like the best bargain in that category. It also sends a message to potential buyers that you are indeed serious about the price of your home, and not prone to the old sales gimmick "Only $9.99 not $10.00". I think the housing market is old enough to get away from the '999' gimmick, and it's time to price houses the way buyer's think.
About the Author
| Michael Lewis White, is a daddy. In his spare time he is also a blogger, home builder, and real estate enthusiast. His posts are focused on home buying, selling, and living in Louisville. You can read more insightful tips at his blog, and find your next home on his website at House in Louisville - http://www.houseinlouisville.com. |  |
What do you think?
I'd love to hear from other agents, buyers, sellers or anyone else that has an opinion on this all-important subject.
