When selling a home in Palo Alto one of the biggest questions is, "how should I price it?" The market is so tilted towards sellers, what should you do to get the maximum amount when selling your Palo Alto home? Should you list, high, low, or at market?
Some agents and Palo Alto home sellers like to price their homes very low in order to generate as many offers as possible with the idea that this will get you the best price and terms with 5-20 buyers bidding on your home.
Here are the pros of under listing your Palo Alto home:
1. You will probably get many offers and someone who is really motivated to buy may offer more than they might have if there were fewer offers.
2. Contingencies will probably be waived by the buyer in an attempt to be more competitive.
Here are the cons of under listing your Palo Alto Home:
1. Sometimes events happen that are out of your control and the offer date may coincide with some event that make buyers think they do not want to buy a home. (Like a precipitous drop in the stock market one day.) You could be left with only a bottom feeder and not get the price you want.
2. The feeding frenzy that goes along with so many offers stresses people out and they may offer something that they really should not have. They are more likely to become uncomfortable with their purchase and this is a situation that is more likely to lead to a post closing lawsuit than if the buyer was totally comfortable with their offer.
If you over price your Palo Alto house it will most likely sit. Buyers are very knowledgeable right now and are unlikely to put up with a listing price they feel is unreasonable. You will most likely get less money by over listing when selling your Palo Alto home and you will be more vulnerable to buyers demanding long contingency periods and demands for repairs or credits.
My best advice for selling your Palo Alto home is to price it on the lower end of fair market value. At this price you should:
1. Get multiple offers with a good chance of getting a very clean offer without having to deal with 20 offers and people feeling they have been bullied into making an outrageous offer.
2. Have no or reasonable contingencies and if a buyer makes an offer on your Palo Alto home with no contingencies it is more likely to be because they are comfortable with your inspections and disclosures and not out of fear of not getting the house.
So remember, if you are selling your Palo Alto home it is important to think carefully about the pros and cons of various pricing strategies.
If you have any questions about selling a home in Palo Alto please feel free to contact me.
Marcy Moyer
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
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