Listing Triangle™ - Front Street Brokers | Page 22
circumstances, before we list your home so we can help you have the best
outcome possible.
Common Pricing Mistakes
Every week we see agents and homeowners make fundamental mistakes
when they price a home to sell. Here are a few of the most common pricing
mistakes we see that lead to a home sitting on the market for months longer
than it should.
Challenging Floor Plans
We see homes with less than desirable floor plans sit on the market for
very long periods of time. Homeowners and real estate agents underestimate
how impactful the floor plan is on pricing. Sometimes when homeowners look
at comparable homes in the area that are a similar size, with the same bedroom
count, in the same vicinity and neighborhood, they think their home should list
at a similar price. But if the home they’re selling has an unusual floor plan, it
ends up selling for far less than similarly sized homes. There are some
exceptions to this rule, but it is important to realize how a floor plan can
impact the sale price.
Homes with Basements
Homes with basements can be very desirable, but when pricing a home
it’s a big mistake to give the square footage in the basement the same weight
as the above grade portion of the home. For example, consider two homes on
the same street that are 2,000 square feet in size. One has 1,000 square feet
above grade and 1,000 square feet below grade; the other one has it all above
grade. Those houses are not similar at all. They look similar on paper, but
they’re not similar when it comes to the prices buyers will pay for the homes.
Many basements have low ceilings, tiny windows, and undesirable living
spaces. Some are daylight basements, which have more value to buyers than
traditional basements. Again, basements are often desirable. But it has been
proven many times over that people give a much higher value for above grade
square footage. Basement square footage is often less expensive per square
foot to put in which is another reason it shouldn’t hold the same amount of
weight.
For example, when we compare the two different 2,000-square-foot
houses, we may treat the one with the basement like a house that is all above
grade but only 1,500 square feet. Often a good rule of thumb for traditional
basements is to cut the basement square footage in half as far as usable square
The Listing Triangle™
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