Study: Pricing too high results in lower final sale

Study: Pricing too high results in lower final sale

About 10 days ago the Herald ran the article linked above. I can't find the page on the Herald's website, but the link takes you to the same article. Kathleen Lynn, a very good real estate writer from the Hackensack Record (NJ), points to a study done by an appraiser that indicates that "testing" the market as a seller is the most costly mistake you can make in today's conditions.

The way it used to play out was you would price something 5% over market value and the market would eventually catch up to your asking price. These days the market is not "catching up" across the board like it used to be. Even in Brookline's single family housing market where we see strong price indications, the sample size is so small that it's hard to think that every house on the market will eventually sell. Also, in this time of the year when fewer buyers are out there as a seller looks at adjusting prices, many times it's not until the third or fourth adjustment cycle that they finally get to where they should have been all along. By that point, the critical two week period in which the most buyers will be introduced to your property is long gone and your ability to attract offers is greatly reduced.

Sellers need to take a good look at these numbers and the stories taken from them. I can promise you that I am never in a listing presentation trying to ask the seller to raise the price they're hoping to ask for. Usually I present a very thorough analysis and the seller immediately tries to negotiate up from there. THIS IS THE WORST MISTAKE YOU CAN MAKE!