If you want to sell your Los Feliz home in the shorterst amount of time, for the best possible price, it only makes senses to get the price right when your home hits the market fo rthe first time. Let's look in to the reasons why.
Los Feliz agents that are working with buyers, whether in the luxury market or in the condo market, are always searching the MLS (especially these days with inventory being so tight), looking for new properties - often we have our clients and ourselves set up to automatically receive new listings. If we haven't found the perfect home, but have seen everything on the market, we are looking for what is NEW. When the agent sees the new listing they will examine the photos which are critcal to have the minute your listing goes live, read the description, look at house and lot size, bed and bath count, condition, neighborhood and price. If the home looks promising, they will schedule a showing or preview the home at the broker's open house - if it REALLY looks promising, we will bring our client to the broker's open to get a jump on things. As a result, a home for sale will often see the most activity in the first couple of weeks after it comes on the market.
It’s true that those first buyers may not be “the ones,” but if your home makes a good impression on the local agents who show it, they’ll be back with other buyers. On the other hand, if they believe it is over-priced, they’ll avoid showing it. Agents don’t want to waste their clients' time. Los Feliz is a unique market, a wonderful area for a family, an executive relocating, and high-profile sports and entertainment figures.
Both buyers and agents search within price ranges. Buyers who can pay up to $2,000,000 generally don’t even look at homes priced at $2,300,000, nor do their agents. And buyers searching for higher priced homes may want more square footage, more amenities, or a different location.
So while sellers may have the idea that they can price high and come down when there’s an offer, chances are there won’t be any offers. An overpriced house is simply being seen by the wrong buyers. And overpriced homes become stale if they've been on the market for a while.
Lst high and reduce the price later? Not a good idea either. We agents hear ALL the time from a buyer, “How long has this house been on the market?” Everyone has a preconceived idea that if real estate has been for sale for quite a while, there’s something wrong with it. The result is that they either won’t want to see it, or they’ll view it as a house on which they can make an offer well below market value.
The sad truth is that homes first listed above market value often sell for below market value – and only after an extended listing period.
That’s why I take my time and do careful research when preparing a market analysis. The price analysis I give you might not be what you’d like to hear, but it will be an accurate estimate of your home’s market value on the day it goes on the market.
And is this market, you all most can't price a home too LOW. The news you hear is true, multiple offers, and cash offers, are the once again the norm in Los Feliz - from The Oaks to Laughlin Park to Franklin Hills, to the best streets above the Blvd.