Homes listed 10 percent over market value will get overlooked.
Thinking about squeezing an extra $5 to $10K when listing your home? It’s a gamble.
Buyers use the Internet every day to research Louisville homes for sale. They often search by price before any other factor. If comparable houses in your area are listed around $210,000 and market value for them is $200,000 while your listing comes in at $220,000, buyers will often think the homeowner is unwilling to negotiate down 10 percent to the $200,000 market value.
Avoid three pitfalls when listing your home
- As mentioned above, you know you’ll come down off the price, so you list higher. Yes, but the buyer isn’t inside your noggin’. And listing a home over 5 percent above market value will make buyers pass your home buy or not offer as they don't think an owner will ever drop 10 percent since the average drop is 4.5 percent in the Louisville area.
- You’ve put money into your house and you expect to get your investment back. This is tricky – it depends on the renovation. If you’ve put money into your kitchen, you can recoup some of that when selling, but if you developed the Garden of Eden in your backyard complete with goldfish pond, that doesn’t quite have a universal appeal.
- You really, really need the extra money. I can appreciate this one, and so can everyone else. But, the buyer doesn’t really care about your financial situation. They want to pay what’s fair for the home no matter if you need the extra moolah to pay off debt or pour into your new abode.