Six Common Pricing Mistakes

The Phillips Team, Cottage Real Estate

Selling your cottage country real estate can evoke a number of emotions and create family and estate planning challenges, and these along with managing the many nuances involved in selling a cottage country property can lead to a number of common pricing mistakes.

Here are some pricing mistakes that sellers should avoid.

1. Overpricing your property from the start: No doubt, you feel that your property is the best property in the area and should command a price relative to the value that you see. I get it, and I feel the same way about my property. However, this is wrong thinking and won’t do you any favours when it comes to listing (and selling!) your property. You must appeal to the value that cottage country buyers see. Overpricing your property at the onset could leave out strong potential buyers, especially when other sales in your community and other factors just don’t justify your listing price. And, you also run the risk of your property needing multiple price reductions, keeping your property on the market much longer.

2. Leaving out online buyers in online searches: When searching online, one of the first things that buyers do is set the search parameters to narrow down their search options. It is therefore important to think about these ranges. For example, if a buyer’s range is $350,000 to $400,000, they won’t see you listing if it is listed at $405,000. It might make sense to list it at $400,000 so that you capture potential buyers in the ranges above and below. At the end of the day, this is certainly a decision you and your Realtor can discuss, but it is certainly worth considering, especially if you teetering between prices ranges anyway.

3. Not considering recently sold properties: Since the Great Recession beginning in October 2008, and the resulting credit crunch in the lending markets, the real estate market has certainly become more objective (land & building values, rather than the subjectivity of paying more money for a specific view for example), arguably making it a fairer for buyers. To arrive at a listing price that will generate buyer interest, you can’t base it solely on properties listed in your area for sale. You must also consider the recent sales in your community and the final sale prices. An experienced and knowledgeable agent can provide you with the educational information you need to make an informed decision about your listing price. And remember, today buyers can access more information than ever before and are typically very well educated and informed about the real estate market they are searching in.

4. Getting too creative with your asking price: Make it easy for buyers to find your property when searching online by choosing round numbers. Listing your property at $311,500, for example, may make sense to you (i.e. working out your dispersants and real estate costs), but has the potential to give potential pause about your intentions and divert attention away from your property to you, as the seller. It makes more sense to engage your creative energies in contributing to the property description.

5. Not being open to negotiation: Although an experienced Realtor who knows your community and market place well will speak to listing your property as close to market value as possible to generate interest, the quickest way to kill a sale of your property is to dig in your heels on asking price before the “for sale” sign is even posted. Negotiation is a two way street, and if you refuse to budge on pricing or other conditions, you might be in for difficult and long, drawn out selling process. You need to ask yourself if it is more important to get your full asking price, or to make a few concessions to facilitate a final sale. Think about the bigger picture and what you are wanting to move on to, and how some flexibility on your part may contribute to this coming to fruition.

6. Ignoring your Realtor’s Insights: The best way to determine the right price for your property starlings with choosing a great

Realtor and then taking his/her advice and recommendations into full consideration. Your Realtor will look at your situation from all perspectives – land and building value, location, local market conditions, recent sales and more – to assist you in making and educated and informed decision about your listing price. As well, an experience Realtor will also speak to you about a marketing strategy and a plan for re-visiting your asking price at agreed upon intervals to ensure that you are working together to get your cottage country property sold!