By Steve Levine, President of Steve Levine Inc., and an agent for REMAX Professional Associates
2015 was one of the most tumultuous years I’ve ever seen – in over 30 years in the industry. The new year is well under way and pricing in towns throughout the region continues to be volatile, bouncing off all-time highs in many communities. Still, a lack of inventory continues to plague the region, and has resulted in so many buyers sitting on the sidelines.
Even though prices have risen substantially, nobody wants to leave money on the table, and homeowners obviously want to do everything they can to maximize their sales price. To help, I put together another one of my Free Reports, which are always so popular these days. This one is entitled “Ten Ways to Increase the Sales Price of Your Home.” If you’d like a copy, just email [email protected] and include your contact info, and it will be emailed to you.
Here are just a few snippets from the report:
One of the easiest and most obvious ways to increase your net profit is to sell your home for a higher price. So often I see homes in our area, which were put on the market thousands of dollars too low. Low-balling the price is the last thing you want to do – especially in this market. Establishing “Fair Market Value” in unusual market conditions such as these can be very difficult. In the past, we relied on detailed reports of “previous comparable sales” in the neighborhood. Nowadays, however, fact that the home across the street sold for $450,000 a month ago is less relevant, when compared against the rapid fluctuations in what buyers are willing to pay based on supply and demand issues. Needless to say, pricing the home based solely on “past sales” can short-change the seller.
A second way to increase your net price on the home is to decrease the amount of extraneous fees. Brokerage commissions are probably the largest expense involved in the selling of a home, so it’s important to make sure that you get the best value.
One obvious solution would be programs like the “Homeowners Blend,” which can reduce the commission on the sale of someone’s home by up to 50 percent, while still, (and this is vital), providing the same full and complete service and advertising that you deserve. This truly works wonders, as so many will attest. Imagine selling your home in a day, at a record high price, and paying only 2.5 percent in the process! As always, I’ve opened up 10 slots for this in February, just to stimulate inventory. If you want one, just let me know.
In any case, when dealing with such life-changing things as selling your home, you need to take the proper precautions. That doesn’t mean “giving your money away,” but it also doesn’t mean trying to remove your own kidney to try and save on surgical bills. The key here is to make sure you have the best agent for the job, but at a fair price that you both can live with. Remember, an agent working for too low of a fee has little incentive to sell the property, and could just as easily be using it to bait and switch buyers to other homes.
Steve Levine, president of Steve Levine, Inc., has been named the #1 Single RE/MAX Agent in New England Ten Times, and one of the Top 100 individual REMAX agents in the world! He is affiliated with REMAX Professional Associates, and can be reached 24 hours a day at 508-845-HOME (4663), by email at [email protected], or online at www.stevelevine.net.
