Competitive pricing has been a cornerstone of successfully selling one’s home for as long as there’s been a real estate market. In Calgary, however, pricing is now more important than it has been in years due to moderate sales and an abundance of supply. While our market remains relatively solid and stable, many buyers simply don’t have the same sense of urgency as they may have had a couple years ago, and taking more time to shop around means having a better idea of where comparable properties are listed, price-wise.
The best place to start, now and always, is with a trustworthy Realtor. When I am preparing to list a client’s home, I do a thorough cataloguing of its most attractive features, recent upgrades, popular amenities, and unique characteristics that will make it stand apart. Armed with this detailed description, I do an intensive comparison among recently-sold properties in the same and similar neighbourhoods. Thinking as a buyer, I look at what other properties the ideal buyer of my client’s home might have come across, and see how they stack up. Examining the selling price and condition of these properties gives me a solid range to present to my client.
Next, I deliver a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to my client featuring the information I gathered above, along with a recommendation for where I think their property should be priced. This is simply a recommendation, of course; my job, as a real estate professional, is to carry out my client’s wishes to the best of my ability, and if they wants to list at ten percent over what comparables have sold at, that’s what I’ll do. However, I’m bringing more than fifteen years of experience to bear on this relationship, and so I would advise my client of the current market conditions, pricing trends, and the potential ramifications of coming in too high: when a home sits on the market for too long, potential buyers and other Realtors can begin to assume something’s fishy, and pressure to drastically lower the price to make a sale can be significant.
The best strategy is to price wisely right out of the gate. A properly priced home tends to sell faster, and for a higher percentage of asking, than one with a more wishful price tag.
So, what is pricing wisely in today’s Calgary market? There are plenty of properties available throughout many attractive communities in our city, and the length of time the average home sits on the market is going up each month, so if you’re looking to sell sooner rather than later, an aggressive pricing strategy is probably called for. While selling prices haven’t taken a nosedive, the abundance of choice means an attractive price can really make your property stand out among the competition. Review your Comparative Market Analysis with your Realtor of choice (contact me to get me started!), and discuss what your home might go for on the low end. Add a couple of percentage points to build in some wiggle room in negotiations, and you should arrive at a price that keeps your home from sitting on MLS for too long.
Of course, there are no guarantees, and each client’s personal situation is different. Patient sellers who don’t need to sell as quickly as possible may find their patience paying off in a higher selling price. The risky part of looking for top dollar in a buyer’s market, such as Calgary’s, is that the property may take an extended period to sell, or may not even sell at all without concessions. Before deciding on a strategy, have a frank discussion with your Realtor about your goals and your tolerance of risk. Listen to his professional opinion, and then make an informed decision. In the end, the best pricing strategy in this, or any, market, is the one that fits your personal situation.
