Price Competitively In A Slowing Property Market

In recent years, sellers were able to set a price and wait for the bidding wars. However these days, a drop-off in buyer demand and rising numbers of homes for sale can make putting a house on the market more of a challenge for homeowners. This is especially so if the homeowner wants to benefit from the gains made in the boom times when a property may have appreciated dramatically in value. The selling homeowner just wants to retain their gains.

In a slowing property market, house hunters can now afford to be choosy. With a growing number of unsold properties on the market, buyers have a greater number of homes from which to choose. If a home is overpriced, a buyer will dismiss it and move on to the next one. Sellers often need to meet the market by lowering their price expectations.

Attracting a shrinking pool of buyers without losing too much financial ground can be tough. It is often best to price a home for sale just below what the market will stand. For example a $500,000 home might be priced at $495,000 to show potential buyers that the seller is serious about selling.

Unfortunately in a slowing property market, it sometimes takes sellers time to adjust to the reality that their $500,000 property is not worth more than the one that just sold down the road for $480,000.

We all like to think that the property we own is better than the one down the road, but buyers might not have the same opinion given such a wide choice of options.

In a slowing property market it is important to price competitively.