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I recently listed a home in Ledyard that was previously listed with
another agent for about 50 days. It was a very nice raised ranch with an
awesome four season sun room. The home was listed back in May for
$324,995. It is a house I'm familiar with so I was rather staggered when I
saw the asking price. After a couple weeks, the price was reduced to
$309,995. It was reduced again about a month later, this time below
the magic $300,000 price point. By then it was too late. The
spring market was over.
I listed this home a few days ago at a reasonable $275,000.
The house sold this weekend.
I've gone on ad nauseum here about the importance of good
photos and exposure on the internet to get your home sold. Those
things matter a lot (let's say about 25%) but makes the
assumption the home is priced right to begin
with. Part of the service you pay for, in the form of a
commission, should be a market analysis on your property. Your
marketing strategy, (the other 75%) should be to price your home very
near market value as determined by a thorough market
analysis. Once a fair price is set, marketing can then kick
into high gear. Here's where the agent gets to strut their marketing stuff
with quality photos and internet exposure.
One problem I see in determining market value is that agents put too
much weight on closed sales. Where the market has
been is important, but where the market is heading is critical in
determining proper pricing. In a rapidly increasing market, pricing
doesn't matter as much. If you are not pressed to move
quickly, eventually time and price will meet. In slower
times, chasing the market down can be disastrous. An experienced
agent knows to look at the big picture by asking questions. Where are
interest rates? What time of year do more homes sell? Is
inventory rising? What price ranges are selling better. (Don't assume the
answer to that one is lowest price ranges.)
Every weekend I send a Ledyard electronic update to my current
sellers, future sellers and others interested in Ledyard
statistics. While preparing this, I also do a quick Eastern CT
snapshot to be sure Ledyard is not experiencing anything unique from the
rest of New London County. Doing that report and writing this blog
force me to take a look at market trends. When setting the listing price
of the now sold raised ranch in Ledyard, I observed there have been no
pending sales in Ledyard over $300,000 for the past few weeks.
I determined that $275,000 was the right price. The smart sellers
agreed with my analysis. 75% of
our marketing was complete.
We expect to close on September 14th. | 
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