If your home has been on the market for a while you maybe under some pressure to lower the asking price. Perhaps you have been resisting this measure and its completely normal to feel this way. No one likes giving away their money. Before you accept a lower asking price, make sure you fine tune these areas of your ‘value proposition’ first:

1.  Adjust Your Possession Date

Can you move out quickly? If so, you must offer immediate possession. This is something that often attracts the best quality buyers who are in a hurry to move in. If you are currently offering a ‘traditional’ 30, 60 or even 90 days possession change it now.

2.  Terms

Have you included your appliances and window coverings as part of the package? You should. Buyers covet these items and your competition has almost certainly included them.

3.  Preparation & Presentation

Do your photos fit the season? As I write this article its fall. If your home has been on the market since the summer, chances are the pictures date your listing. Get some photos taken of fall colours or even snow. Home buyers are expecting this, and your listing will look ‘fresh’. Is your home choc-full of clutter? Is your furniture too large? Would staging help? Read this article to learn more: Should You Stage Your Home?. Have you fixed all those items that don’t work? The buyers that will pay you the most money, want ‘move in ready’. For a comprehensive Pre Sale Sale Check List download our Home Sellers Guide. Please don’t forget to make the beds, dust, put away clothes and empty the dish washer every day.

4.  How Motivated Are You?

Selling is stressful, fraught with uncertainty and is time consuming. When you sell a home, you will rarely get everything you want. You may have to agree to make some concessions and most sellers over-value their homes. Unless you have solid reasons to sell and could describe your level of motivation as at least ‘7 from 10’, we suggest you wait and enjoy your home for a while longer.

5.  What’s Your Competition Doing?

You will always have competition. Even the most ‘unique’ home has competition. All homes provide a basic function. Shelter. If other home owners around you are successful in selling, you should examine how they did it.

6.  How Much Exposure Are You Getting?

Many people assume all they need is an MLS^® listing and a yard sign on the front lawn. This is not true. Less than 50% of homes listed on the MLS^® System sell in term. Read our market report for more detail: Edmonton Market Report. You need more exposure. Find a way to extensively advertise on Facebook^® and Instagram^®. It would also be good to look for a service provider that already has a database of home buyers actively searching for their next home. Professional quality photography is also important.

7.  Is Your Price Realistic?

There’s always a market for any home at any time. If you have taken care of everything else, adjusting your price is all that remains. Of course, you don’t want to lose money or give away your equity. This is a completely normal feeling. However, this ‘money’ or ‘equity’ was never real. It only ever existed in your mind and your heart.

Selling a home is an emotional roller coaster and completely normal. I wrote this article some time ago. Does it resonate with you? 7 Emotional Stages of a Home Seller.

About the author:

You can read more about the author of this blog by clicking this link – Stuart Neal Broker Owner & REALTOR^®

Want more information about our discount and flat fee home selling programs? Please feel free to call our broker owner Stuart Neal at: 780-760-2014 or visit our home sellers page www.FlatFeeRealtyAdvisors.ca