Editorial

Front Page - Friday, September 10, 2010

Real Estate Facts

Adjusting the seasoning

Elwynn Schwartz

There are three basic ingredients in the recipe for selling a home: location, condition and price. Sellers have the most control over that final ingredient, price. If a home isn’t selling after a couple months, that element will likely need some adjustment.
Generally, if your home isn’t selling in the average amount of time that others on the market are, overpricing is the probable culprit. Deciding how much to adjust your asking price will depend on a reevaluation of your local market.
Even if you’re confident that you priced fairly and correctly from the beginning, you may find yourself overpriced if local conditions have declined or not seen any recent improvement. Now may be the time to consult with your real estate agent and ask for a new CMA, or Comparative Market Analysis.
The CMA will report the current asking prices, current selling prices and prices for homes whose listings have expired. Forget about comparing asking prices, because the market has not yet shown if those will sell or not.
Prices at which homes did sell are a good figure to heed, but you’ll learn the most from the prices at which homes did not sell, or expired. After your agent’s explanation of the CMA, make sure your new price reduction is in line with final sales prices and well below the expired listing prices.
Elwynn Schwartz is the owner of Chattanooga Real Estate Consultants and may be reached at 423-894-3050.

Search Hamilton County property sales, mortgages, court filings, incorporation filings, liens & more INSTANTLY.

View official public notices.

Home | Public Notices | All Statewide Public Notices | Name & Property Search | Site Login