Even in Palo Alto's Heated Market, Overpricing is Not a Good Idea

Everyone knows Palo Alto's housing market is hot, homes get multiple offers, and sales can be wildly over asking price, but that does not mean a seller can price his/her home at any price and get these results. As a long time Palo Alto real estate agent I can assure you that today's buyers are more informed than any buyers from previous years.

Most buyers looking at a specific neighborhood are as informed about values as most realtors helping them. They know what has sold, and for how much and they know how the recent sales compare to your home, so don't think you can fool them.

If you price your Palo Alto home a lot under market value you will get many offers and a price over asking. If you price your Palo Alto home at market value, you will not get as many offers, and you will not end up with a price wildly over asking, but you will probably end up at the same price as if you priced it wildly under value.

However, if you over price your home it will sit, and you may end up getting less for your home than if you priced it realistically the first time.

Palo Alto real estate is precious. The inventory is at historic lows. The prices are now back to about what they were before the crash. So be smart and take advantage of this wonderful time to sell and price your home correctly.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Palo Alto please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
www.marcymoyer.com
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
D.R.E. 01191194

What To Do When The Accepted Palo Alto Home Offer Does Not Appraise

This is a common problem. The market is appreciating and homes are selling for more now than they were 6 months ago. Good news for Palo Alto sellers, right? It can be, but there are pitfalls.

If the offer you accept is higher than the market value of closed sales, not the ones that are pending, and you know it sold for $300,000 over asking, then you may run into issues if that offer is contingent on an appraisal. The appraisal will look at closed sales in the last 3-6 months, not rumors about the house around the corner.

When you get your 10 offers, and one is higher than all the others but contingent on an appraisal, just remember it is not going to appraise at the offered value and there may be another round of negotiations.

There are several ways to deal with this that should be discussed with your Palo Alto agent at the time that you look at offers. You can:

• Take a cash offer that is not contingent on an appraisal. 
• Ask the buyer of an offer with a loan to agree to make up the difference between the appraised value and the offer price. 
• Cross your fingers and hope the appraisal comes in at the offer price and if it does not, negotiate the price you are willing to take and the buyer is willing to give. There may be other things about this offer you like so it may be worth it to take the most the house will appraise for even if it is less than another offer that does not have an appraisal contingency. 

What you should not do is pretend this is not an issue and not deal with it with your Palo Alto agent up front.

If you have any questions about buying or selling a house in Palo Alto please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
www.marcymoyer.com
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
D.R.E. 01191194