How I price a condo or home for sale in the Boston area
"Great Realtor! He came up with a great price and we were still able to get above ask! Very down to earth and was on top of every aspect of the transaction. If you need a reliable Realtor on your side - Joe is your guy!
David Z., Back Bay, Boston
Quick and dirty home pricing doesn't cut it.
Need to find out what your Boston home or condo is worth? We've all seen the Zestimates and the ads for instant home price workups scrolling through our Facebook feeds.
The problem is that the algorithm doing the pricing of your Boston home or condo doesn't know about the condition of the property, how it shows, how the common areas look, how owner-occupied the building is, the financial condition of the association, what part of the block it's on, what work has just been done or is coming up, and just doesn't have a "gut feel" based on over 30 years of experience.
I do. In addition to my experience as a Boston Realtor, I've also had experience as an appraiser. I know how home pricing works. Since the beginning of 2015, my Boston listings have sold for on average over asking, with a median of about a week on market ‘til accepted offer.
With home or condo pricing, as with most other things, you can get it done quickly or you can get it done correctly. I can get you a real, accurate price that I can stand behind within a few days. Pricing is one of the most critical decisions you can make regarding the sale of your home.
The CMA: The Comparable Market Analysis
Here is an example of my very detailed CMA. This is not an educated guess. It is a thoughtful analysis of how best to position your property for maximum sale price and buyer competition. I know that when I give you a number, I need to stand behind that number. I do NOT like to have to tell a seller that we need to reduce, so I do the best I can to get the number right from the outset.
What is a comparable property?
I look first at the relevent recent sold, under agreement (pending) and available comparable properties (comps).
Relevent comparable properties are judged by:
- Neighborhood, square footage, numbers of beds or baths.
- Is it a corner unit, a brownstone unit, or a condo in a luxury building? Has it been totally renovated or is it an older unit that needs a lot of work?
- High ceilings? Light? Views? Parking? Outdoor space? Etc., etc., etc.
- Lots of tangibles and less tangibles, such as "appeal". Who is the target market for your property?
- In the case of investments, potential ROI is critical.
We not only look at sold properties, but pending and available properties too. The behavior of the current market and what we can project into the near-term future is a critical factor in pricing. While sold comps may establish a baseline for your property, pending and available properties the current tenor and future direction of the market.
When we look at these properties, critical factors are:
- Time on market and price changes. When properties are priced incorrectly, they end to accumulate "days-on-market (DOM)." The number of viewings and motivated buyers drops off. Price reductions may help, but they do not attract the same number of hughly motivated buyers than if it was priced correctly to begin with.
- What competing properties are currently on the market? How long have they been on and have there been any reductions?
What is the relationship between selling and asking price?
Most of my listings in recent years have sold at or over asking price although obviously cannot promise that. We maximize the chances of this happening by placing the asking price where the adjusted selling price of the sold comparables suggest. "Adjusted price" means that in my analysis, I make pricing adjustments for the differences between your property and the comp, sort of like an appraiser would do. If the market is strong and there is little competition, we might be a little more aspirational in our pricing.
When your propery enters the market, we want all the active buyers to look at the listing and understand that they are going to have to really step up to the plate if they want to purchase it. And we want to ideally choose between very motivated buyers. Not one that will nickel-and-dime and will be difficult and lack committment.
In a slightly "upwardly mobile" market like ours, along with low inventory, this is generally the price that will attract the most and the most highly motivated buyers. This is the price that will have your property sold for the best price to the most motivated buyer. And your property will then be the new comp.
The good news is that I have over 30 years of experience pricing condos and homes in the Boston area. I've been in many of the solds, pendings, and availables. I can give you good advice on pricing.
And my long experience as well as the superior marketing platform of Gibson Sotheby's International Realty make me a very good choice for listing marketing, and selling your property. Please complete the form below, and we can get started on the pricing process. There's no obligation and I look forward to speaking with you.
Feel free to contact me at +1.617.584.9790. or joe.wolvek@gibsonsir.com
