Crescent City Real Estate News

Selling Your Crescent City Home - Part 1 - Proper Pricing

Proper pricing, how important is it?  In the current Crescent City real estate market; it's everything. 

Unless you have been living in a cave for the last year or so, you are highly aware that the Crescent City real estate marketis a buyer's market. There are a plethora (oversupply) of listings for sale versus the supply of ready, willing and able buyer's.

What that means for you the seller is that you have a lot of competition in selling your home.  The number one factor in getting your home sold in this current buyer's market is to price your home below the mid range of the competing listings (or lower if the home is in worse condition than most of the competing listings).  Foreclosed listings are coming onto the market at the bottom of their price range and getting snapped up, so in order to compete, you have to price accordingly. If you don't have the stomach for this and plenty of seller's don't, you more than likely will not sell in a timely manner.

Your full-time real estate agent should be a huge help in this regard.  A full-time real estate agent who sells a lot of volume does so because they work hard, KNOW THEIR MARKET, and have competitively priced listings.  A good agent is worth their weight in gold in this market, so choose wisely. 

Statistics show that homes that sell in the first few weeks, sell for more than if they languish on the market for many months and if you think about it, that just makes sense. Why?  Anything, whether it be a movie, a new brand of clothing or new listing has a "newness excitement factor" attached to it that doesn't last long.  If the item proves to be genuinely excitining, like a really good movie, then large crowds attend for many weeks and people go see the movie more than once (think of Star Wars when it first came out).  However, if the first wave of lookers spread, through word of mouth, that the movie is a dud...well, that's usually the end of it and it gets sent to the DVD rental store.   

Same thing with a house for sale. It comes on the market--especially in a small market like Crescent City-- and it gets a flurry of showings.  This is the time when a home has the greatest chance of getting competing offers and therefore higher offers.  The old adage that, "Your first offer is usually your best" is so true most of the time. The longer a home is on the market, the more shop worn or stigmatized it becomes.  I know you don't want to give your house away but remember, a home is worth what a buyer is willing to pay IN THE CURRENT MARKET, not what a buyer would have paid in 2005.  I know that's painful, but unfortunately it's a fact. 

What if, by chance, you do price high and a buyer that just has to have your home offers full price?  You better read Part 2, because having an accepted offer is not the end of the story, it is only the beginning.

If you would like to talk to an experienced, full-time agent regarding selling your Crescent City home, give me a call and I would be happy to do a free market analysis for you using up-to-the-minute market data.  Please subscribe to my monthly market report for an indepth look at the Crescent City/Del Norte County real estate market and how it affects you.

Don't miss:

Selling your Crescent City Home - Part 2 - Negotiating an Offer
Selling your Crescent City Home - Part 3 - You're in Escrow

       

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009--*both in number and volume--than Fran. Put Fran to work for you!

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®

*PER CCMLS

Are you Selling Your Crescent City Home and want to know how to get Top Dollar?

I recently had several local agents share their surprise at the sales price of two of my listings that sold earlier this year.  These two homes fetched Top Dollar in the Crescent City market.   In fact, in their opinion, these homes sold for more than the market value at the time. 

I had the same reaction from several local real estate agents at the sales price of my personal residence that I sold in 2005.

All three of these homes had something in common, something that set them apart from the competition and caused them to sell for Top Dollar in their market.

How do you get Top Dollar for your Crescent City, CA home or your home where ever it is located? 

My home was unmistakeably the nicest home in it's price range.  Every buyer I showed my home to made that comment and so did the agents who previewed the home.  I sold my home quickly because in comparison to other homes in that price range, it had much more to offer. 

The other two homes in question were both located next door to one another in a HIGHLY DESIRABLE neighborhood that does not have homes for sale very often.  The location, for the price, was deemed desirable.  One home sold within a few months and the other was in escrow within 16 days.  Both homes were in good shape, but the location was outstanding. 

How do you sell your Crescent City home for Top Dollar?  Price it according to it's level of desirability.  I suggest you get a list of all the active listings and homes that have sold within the last 3 months in the price range you are contemplating.  This will be a huge eyeopener for most seller's and will be very helpful in getting you grounded in the reality of the current market. 

You can ask whatever sales price you like for your home, but your home's desirability and price are what is going to bring you a buyer.  Are there 5, 10, 20 homes in your price range that have a better location, are in better condition, are newer and are priced the same as your home?  if so, why would a buyer choose yours?  Chances are they wouldn't.  However, if your home is the nicest in location, condition, etc for your price range, chances are really good your home will sell quickly and for a good price.  Why?  Because it's highly desirable for the price and a buyer will want to lock it up quickly before a better offer comes in.

It is tough sometimes to take a realistic view of your home. 

 A seller's view of their home

The appraiser's view of the seller's home

The buyer's view of the seller's home.

Know your homes competition, have a realistic view of your homes worth in the current market and price accordingly for a timely sale that should bring Top Dollar.

Thank you for checking out my post.  Please leave a comment.

       

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009--*both in number and volume--than Fran. Put Fran to work for you!

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®

*PER CCMLS

Yes, encouragement for sellers - It makes me very happy to be able to be able to write some encouraging words for sellers, something I haven't done for quite awhile.

Those of you who read my blog on a regular basis know I follow my market stats closely and do not paint a rosey picture unless it's warranted. 

Sales are picking up all over the U.S., not just in Del Norte Country.  In most of the hot markets in California, housing sales are strong because of foreclosures.  It has been that way in Del Norte County as well for the last 4-5 months, but in the last 4-6 weeks, there has been increased activity in homes over $250,000, the majority of which are not foreclosures.  This is welcome news for sellers.

Here are my stats (I love stats):

• Homes $200,000 and under comprise 43% of active listings and 50% of pending/contingency sales
• Homes $201,000-$300,000 comprise 23% of active listings and 27% of pending/contingency sales
• Homes $301,000-$400,000 comprise 14% of active listings and 13% of pending/contingency sales
• Homes $401,000-$500,000 comprise 8% of active listings and 7% of pending/contingency sales
• Homes $501,000 and up comprise 13% of active listings and 3% of pending/contingency sales

40% of sales are between $201,000 and $400,000.  That is a big increase over previous reports. 

There is a caveat to this optimism--you knew there would be--home prices continue to decline.  The increase in activity in the upper end home market is coming from buyers who are taking advantage of low interest rates.  Foreclosures have not gone away, quite the contrary, they are still with us and the banks are more aggressive than ever in pricing well below market value, driving down prices for surrounding sellers.

If you are selling your home, talk to your real estate agent and find out what CURRENT comps have to say about the list price of your home.  Make sure your are competitively priced to take advantage of this flurry of selling. 

       

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009--*both in number and volume--than Fran. Put Fran to work for you!

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®

*PER CCMLS