How To Sell Your House Fast For the Highest Price
I became an Ohio licensed real estate salesman in February of 1975. I was 23 and very wet behind the ears.
My broker was a wise man named Harry Cafeo, and he owned a company called CCC Realty located on Harrison Avenue in Cheviot, OH. Within ten years, I passed the test to become a broker and started my own company.
Harry taught me early on that if a new listing didn't get a written offer within 30 days, NO MATTER WHAT the market conditions, the price was too high.
That didn't make sense to me at the time, but I later figured it out.
Here's what Harry didn't tell me.
The real estate market is dynamic. This means each day there are different buyers and sellers in the marketplace.
The most knowledgeable people who know the true value of real estate are the buyers. Most people think appraisers, salesmen or brokers know best. It's not true.
Here's why buyers are the experts when it comes to pricing.
When a ready, willing and able buyer is looking for a home, she or he zeros in on a given neighborhood. These people drive the streets looking for new signs, they now sign up for email or text alerts about new listings, they go to all open houses, they visit just about every listing in the neighborhood that's of interest to them.
No broker or salesman or appraiser can do this. They don't see ALL OF THE HOUSES in a specific area. They see many, but not all.
This is vitally important.
Because of this, the buyers know a great deal when they see one - and they often make an offer right away, or they laugh out loud once back in their car saying, "That owner should put their crack pipe DOWN and get real!"
But it's more complex. You need to factor in the dynamic aspect of the market.
Think of an auction, a live auction room filled with people.
If there are many people at the auction who are motivated to buy, the prices are often driven up pretty high.
If there are few people at the auction, the price of an item may never make it to the minimum and an auctioneer may suspend the auction.
The real estate market is pretty much an auction, but it happens at a SLOWER pace - that is unless you list your house for the right price or maybe a little lower than what it's worth. Then the buyers in the marketplace might get into a bidding frenzy.
Ask any seasoned broker and they'll confirm all this. They'll tell you of listings that have received MULTIPLE OFFERS all of which are HIGHER than the asking price.
Why did this happen? Because the buyers all knew the listing was a super deal AT THAT LISTING PRICE.
If you want to determine what your house is worth before you sell it, start acting like a BUYER. Go visit all the houses in your neighborhood that are for sale and soon you'll figure out what your house is worth.