Central Arkansas has recently been through its best real estate market ever. Now, the national real estate market has taken an extreme down turn and the average price of some homes has actually gone down. That may seem a little depressing, but the Central Arkansas market has remained much better than most markets. We have seen a 3% increase in average home price overall. That makes our market seem a little better than most, but we still have our issues. Many price ranges and areas of our market have large numbers of homes on the market and competition is fierce. For example, one of my listings has 50 or more houses for sale at one time just in the same subdivision. Days on the market have increased and it has become more of a buyers market. Pricing your property at a realistic value has become even more important in today's market.
The two most important questions you should be asking your real estate agent:
1. What have properties similar to mine sold for in the past 3 months?
Why only 3 months? Because prices have been falling in some areas for the past year,
and if we use comparables that are older than that, it may represent an asking price that is too high in this current market.
2. Who is my competition in the marketplace?
By comparing listings that are in direct competition in your price, size range and general
area, you will be able to price your home so it will not be rejected instantly.
My goal as a listing agent is always to get you the highest price possible in the shortest amount of time. This now requires that we incorporate smart pricing strategies that will help us accomplish your goal of selling at market price.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
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