#1 Most important when Selling a House in Jacksonville or Ponte Vedra

The #1 most important item when selling a house:  PRICING!

Demand for housing is very low and inventory very high which results in lower prices.  However, many owners and agents still price homes too high.

4 Reasons Owners Price their homes too High:

1. Good Ole Days:  "3 years ago our neighbor sold for $xx".
2. Purchased too High:  Many owners purchased the home for just less than they are trying to resale for.  Problem being they purchased between 2004-2008.
3. Leave room to Negotiate:  I hear this a lot, "Someone will make an offer and we want to have room to negotiate".
4. Owners Personal Opinion:  Many owners just think their home is worth more than their neighbors.

4 Reasons Agents price homes too high:

1. To get the listing:  Many agents will agree to or even puff up the price in order to get the listing.
2. Nostalgic:  Again with the Good Ole Days.
3. Leave room to Negotiate:  Again with having room to negotiate.
4. Scared to be real with the Owners.

I don't mind bragging: I average about 45 days to sell most of my listings.  That is EXTREMELY FAST in any market. 

6 Keys to Selling Fast in a Bad Real Estate Market:

1. Price aggressively from the beginning:  Forget trying to squeeze out the last dollar - if an owner wants to sell in this market we must go for the sale fast and price it to get some action.  Price it too high and get prepared for 6 months of constantly worrying about if they home will sell or not just to start doing heavy price drops anyways.  "Leave room for negotiation":  Don't waste your time putting it on the market, it's better to be aggressive from the beginning and get the showings needed to get it SOLD.
2. Traffic = Sales.  If we don't have prospects looking at the house, we will not get offers.  I constantly monitor how many showings each home gets and adjust accordingly.
3. Curb Appeal:  I require that the home have good curb appeal.  If it needs mulch, flowers, hedges trimmed, etc, the seller must complete this and keep it up.
4. Pictures must be GOOD:  I bring in lighting, use wide angle lenses, and do everything possible to make the house look its best.
5. Syndicate the listing to the web:  the home for sale information is put out to all the major and many of the minor home search players on the web.  About 90% of home buyers start the search on the web....we are there!
6. Negotiations & Expectations:  When we do get offers, we want strong offers with minimal contingencies for the highest success rate of  buyers staying with us and closing  the transaction.

If you have a home to sell in Jacksonville or Ponte Vedra, recognize that you must agree to price the home appropriately from the beginning.  Do this and you are half way to having the home sold while your neighbors just sit and wait!  Check out our Marketing and Selling Plan.