Many Boston luxury condo sellers will want to push the pricing on their Boston condo or loft when they go to sell it, many times even when their Realtor advises against it. What often happens is that the seller will usually end up chasing the market down. A case in point, an investor designed condo, one of my favorite areas of Boston went under agreement over 300 days days on the market. This fantastic condo was originally priced over $1,000,000. The listed price when it went pending was $997,000. So the best case scenario it sells at list price. Even then it will have sold for more than -16% from it original list price.* While it may appear that the sellers were getting $198,000 less than they were hoping for, let’s look at the real numbers. If the sellers would have priced it closer to market value at the time, maybe $100,000 to $150,000 less, it would have had a very good chance of selling in 3- 6 months somewhere in the $1,050,000 range, instead, it will sell for (again best case scenario…$997,000) The sellers would have made about $50,000 more than what will be the reality. What is often overlooked though is the cost of carry. The sellers had this condo on the market for several months. Now let’s say they put a couple hundred thousand down when they made their original purchase. This would have given them a monthly mortgage payment in the $5,000 a month range. The condo fees were about $1,000 a month and they had to pay property taxes . So the actual cost to carry for several months was about $98,000. Had they sold in a 3 month scenario like mentioned above, their cost to carry would have been a lot less In the end they could have netted an additional $110,000 or more than what will actually happen.
So what does all of this mean?
As a Boston real estate agent, my job is to try to sell your condo for the highest possible price and do it in a reasonable time period. Time and time again we see sellers trying to “test” the market with an overpriced listing and having it come back to hurt them in the long run. Here are a couple of thoughts to think about when selling.
Lead the Market Don’t chase it, The end result, unlike the above example, it will result in a quicker sale saving you on mortgage payments, HOA fees and taxes. Also, a home that is priced correctly will attract more serious buyers who are ready to pull the trigger and make a full price offer for fear of losing a “decent” value.
Increased Response. When agents see a new listing come onto the market that is priced correctly, they will make special efforts to tell their buyers about the unit. The end result will be more showings with qualified buyers.
Less Inconvenience, Let’s be honest here. Nobody enjoys having strangers walking through their home. In addition, it takes much time and energy to keep your home in “Show” condition as well as constantly having to make arrangements to leave for showings.
Great Internet Marketing, Do NOT underestimate the importance of this one fact. 93% of buyers begin their search on the internet. Work with an agent that is a condo specialist and most important, one that has strong internet exposure! If you own a mid to high-rise condo in Portland and plan to sell, do some research. Think like a buyer and search on Bing and Google and do searches like serious buyers do. Search for Boston luxury condos or Boston luxury condos for sale. What do you see show up on these searches? What you will see is a couple us agents who specialize with Boston luxury condos. This is where you want YOUR LISTING to show up …right?