Priced To Sell

November 20, 2008

In today’s volatile market, buyers expect to get a great deal when then purchase a home. It’s almost as if they want to be rewarded for being brave and credit worthy. So how do you price your home so that it’s competitive enough to get buyers looking at it, but high enough to allow the negotiating room buyers need so they can assure themselves they purchased the home at a discount?

A while back I showed a home that had been reduced for a quick sale. It was a great deal. The buyer I was working with loved the house and made an offer (90% of list price) on the home. The offer was rejected. When I asked if the buyer would have been happy with the purchase price if the home had originally been listed higher and he’d offered the current list price. The buyer admitted that buying the home at a discount was more important than finding the right house at the right price. He absolutely could not pay full list price for the home, even though the list price was below comparable homes.

It’s difficult for sellers to understand that some of the appreciation they’ve experienced over the last few years has been wiped out. But if a seller has owned for more than about 8 years, he still should have built up enough equity to be able to price well, leave a little room for negotiation and walk away from the table with some profit. Compare profits to what your stock portfolio or retirement is worth, and sellers in most parts of the country are still OK. Yes, there are areas in the country where sellers are upside down in their mortgages, but how many of these sellers have owned for more than 8 years?

So if you’re a seller with enough equity to negotiate, do so with grace and gratitude. Hopefully, you’ll get just a good a deal when you go to buy your next home!

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Local Information for Raleigh, NC

Latitude: 35.818835 -- Longitude: -78.64459

Other Area Cities: Apex Wake Forest Holly Springs Raleigh Cary Clayton Knightdale

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Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 276,093. Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh make up the three cities of the Triangle which is a research park created in 1959. Although the median home price has topped $200,000, homes are available in all price ranges, and the area is still more affordable than many other regions with similar economies. Raleigh's proximity to both the Atlantic coast and to ski slopes in NC and VA make it an ideal location. Raleigh's temerate climate allows for year-round activities such as golf, hiking, biking, fishing - some even in the city thanks to the parks and greenways system. Some of the most renouned museums in the South are located in Raleigh, as well as the NC Symphony orchestra. The BTI Center for the Performing Arts is one of the best in the country. Sports fans will discover many outlets for their enthusiasm - from ACC basketball to college teams. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

North Carolina 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Raleigh	North Carolina	United States
Population	276,093	8,049,313	281,421,906
Median age	30.9	35.3	35.3
Median age for Male	30	33.8	34
Median age for Female	32.1	36.7	36.5
Households	112,608	3,132,013	105,480,101
Household population	258,777	7,795,432	273,643,273
Average household size	2.3	2.49	2.59
Families	61,327	2,158,869	71,787,347
Average family size	2.97	2.98	3.14
Housing units	120,699	3,523,944	115,904,641
Occupied units	112,608	3,132,013	105,480,101
Vacant units	8,091	391,931	10,424,540

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