How to Get the Most Money from the Sale of Your House

Every homeowner wants to make sure they maximize the financial reward when selling their home. But, how do you guarantee that you receive maximum value for your house? Here are two keys to insuring you get the highest price possible.

1. Price it a LITTLE LOW

This may seem counterintuitive. However, let’s look at this concept for a moment. Many homeowners think that pricing their home a little OVER market value will leave them room for negotiation. In actuality, this just dramatically lessens the demand for your house. (see chart)

Instead of the seller trying to ‘win’ the negotiation with one buyer, they should price it so demand for the home is maximized. In that way, the seller will not be fighting with a buyer over the price but instead will have multiple buyers fighting with each other over the house.

In a recent article on realtor.com, they gave this advice:

“Aim to price your property at or just slightly below the going rate. Today’s buyers are highly informed, so if they sense they’re getting a deal, they’re likely to bid up a property that’s slightly underpriced, especially in areas with low inventory.”

2. Use a Real Estate Professional

This too may seem counterintuitive. The seller may think they would net more money if they didn’t have to pay a real estate commission. Yet, studies have shown that typically homes sell for more money when handled by a real estate professional.

Recent research posted by the Economists’ Outlook Blog revealed:

“The median selling price for all FSBO homes was $210,000 last year. When the buyer knew the seller in FSBO sales, the number sinks to the median selling price of $151,900. However, homes that were sold with the assistance of an agent had a median selling price of $249,000 – nearly $40,000 more for the typical home sale.”

Bottom Line

Price it at or slightly below the current market value and hire a professional. That will guarantee you maximize the price you get for your house.

Metro Baton Rouge home sales jump in September

http://theadvocate.com/news/13896036-123/metro-baton-rouge-home-sales

The number of houses sold in metro Baton Rouge rose 15.4 percent in September from a year ago, thanks to a big boost in activity in East Baton Rouge Parish.

There were 883 homes sold in September in the nine-parish area, according to figures released Thursday by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Service. That compares with 765 MLS sales in September 2014. This was the fourth month in a row sales have gone up year-to-year.

East Baton Rouge Parish, which makes up the largest share of MLS sales, had the biggest gain in closings. There were 473 homes sold in the parish during September, a 24.1 percent increase over the 381 MLS sales in September 2014.

Wynona Squires, broker/owner of Re/Max First in Baton Rouge, said indications that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates in the near future “has put some urgency” on first-time homebuyers in the market.

“We’ve been very busy through the summer,” said Squires, a member of the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors’ board of directors. “A lot of my agents have numbers that are larger than what they were last year.”

According to MLS figures provided by Squires, much of the increased sales activity was in the starter-home market. There were 99 homes sold in East Baton Rouge Parish in September in the $150,000 to $199,999 range. That was a 48 percent increase over the 67 sales in September 2014 in the same price bracket. More expensive homes were also moving, with the number of home sales in the $300,000 to $349,999 range increasing by 68 percent to 32. The number of sales in the $600,000 to $699,999 range went from two in September 2014 to seven a year later.

Livingston Parish had an 18.3 percent increase in sales during September, jumping from 153 MLS sales in 2014 to 181 sales.

Ascension Parish, which has been hampered by a lack of inventory, had a 6.5 percent increase in MLS sales. There were 163 sales in September, compared with 153 a year earlier.

The median home sales price in the area rose by 6.1 percent in September to $188,000 from $177,250 — meaning half the houses sold for more and half for less than that price.

The number of pending sales in metro Baton Rouge, a sign of future activity, decreased by 3.3 percent from 800 to 774.

The number of homes for sale dropped by 11.2 percent from 4,183 in September 2014 to 3,713. New listings were up by 15.8 percent to 1,077 in September, compared with 930 a year earlier.

Although the local housing market has performed well this year, with rising prices and increased sales activity, a lack of housing inventory has put a damper on the market.

The supply in months was 4.6, based on the current rate of sales, compared with 5.5 months in September 2014. Six months is considered an ample supply.

The number of days a house stayed on the market dropped from 83 to 67 in metro Baton Rouge.

Through the first nine months of 2015, there were 7,537 home sales in the metro area, compared with 6,915 through September 2014, a 9 percent increase.