About Appraisals

A Market Analysis

Setting the right price is an important first step in getting a home sold. Sellers often wonder if they should spend $200 to $400 for a professional appraisal of their property before placing it on the market.

A professional appraiser's opinion of a property's market value is based on the recent sales of similar homes. Different appraisers could come up with different numbers. Even if all of them agreed on a value, there is no guarantee that you would receive that amount for your property. An alternative to a professional appraisal is to ask a professional Realtor for a written market analysis of your property. This analysis will include information about recent home sales in your neighborhood, as well as how those homes compare to yours. Realtors may provide this service with no charge or obligation. If you are still unsure of the value of your home, you may wish to pay for an appraisal.

Comparable's

To take much of the guesswork out of your consideration about whether a particular property in the Overland Park area is a good investment, you can check on the actual selling price of similar homes in the neighborhood.
Some sales information, such as the selling price, the financing terms, and the transaction dates, is public information. Your Realtor will have record of all recent sales. You can find out how properties have been appreciating, based on actual sales, rather than from the neighbors (they could be wrong!). Driving by comparable homes can give you an idea about how they compare with the property you are considering. Your Realtor may have seen these homes and can give you additional information to help you make a decision.

Competitive Pricing

You have seen it all over the years--interest rates rise and fall, sales prices escalate and decline. No matter what phase the market is in, it is always important to price your home in the Overland Park area competitively. How can you price your home with confidence?

The first step is to contact a professional Realtor for a market analysis. The Realtor will look at recent sales of comparable homes in your area and give you information about other properties that are currently on the market. By comparing the size, location and condition of your home to the competition, your agent can help you determine what to ask for your home. Even in an active market, an inflated price may frighten prospective buyers away. A house that is over-priced can take additional weeks or months to sell, and the final sale price may even be lower than if the sellers had started out more realistically. The price is based on market conditions, comparable sales, and our years of experience in the marketplace.

Different Markets

If you are going to sell your present home in the Overland Park area, the market conditions will play a crucial role in determining the asking price. Market conditions change constantly, so it is important that you get solid advice from a professional who is familiar with your specific area.

A good Realtor will know how houses in your area are selling, as well as the other factors that may influence the sale. Nearby commercial development, which may create congestion and noise, may also mean a greater demand for housing from people who will be working in the new office buildings. A new bus route that cuts commuting time could make your home more valuable and highways close by can be an issue with the price. The economic conditions have a strong impact on the real estate market. Real estate professionals can help you consider all of the issues and assist you in setting a fair price for your home.

Fair Market Value

What is the best price for a piece of real estate? Mortgage lenders, appraisers, and real estate brokers use what is called the "fair market value" (FMV). FMV has been defined as "the price that a buyer is willing to pay and the seller is willing to accept, when both parties are knowledgeable about the property and neither is under any time pressure to buy or sell". Sounds great, but how is this price determined?

The starting point for determining a fair price may be an opinion of the value or "competitive market analysis". Such an analysis uses information on similar properties which are: 1) currently for sale, 2) already sold, or 3) expired properties (those which did not sell). Local, national and international trends and market conditions must also be evaluated.

By comparing similar properties in each of the three categories and the market conditions, appraisers, lenders and agents come very close to the maximum price that buyers would be willing to pay for a house.

House Selling Tips

Everyone wants to get the maximum amount possible when they sell their home, but many homes sit on the market because they are overpriced. One real estate axiom states that "the true monetary value of real estate is what someone is actually willing to pay for it". A professional Realtor determines the asking price of a property by examining the selling price of comparable homes in the area which have closed.

A sellers might occasionally be heard to complain that a sales professional "low balled" their home for a quick, easy sale, however, Realtors always work to maximize their seller's profit. They price your home based on a careful calculation of the maximum amount you should be able to get (with a little room to negotiate).
So, if you are really serious about selling your home, work with your sales professional to make sure that it is priced right.

If the Price Isn't Right

A Realtor has shown you a house in the Overland Park area that you like a lot. There is only one problem--the price seems too high. In a situation like this, you can still make an offer that you feel is appropriate.

The Realtor cannot tell you how much to offer but can give you information about the selling prices of similar homes in the area. The agent will present your offer to the sellers. They have three choices--they can accept, reject, or counter your offer. If the house is a new listing, or if your offer is very low, they may decide to hold out for something better. Sellers frequently build a little negotiating room into their asking price. Prices that are not negotiable at the beginning of a listing period may become flexible as time goes on. If you want to test the sellers' flexibility, make them an offer.

It's a Pricey Life

Pricing a house is the most important part of the marketing process. You want to get as much for the property as you can, but if you set the price too high, you can frighten off qualified purchasers. Your Realtor can tell you the selling price of homes similar to yours. Pricing strategy depends on market conditions, and it is different in a buyers' market than it is in a sellers' market.

If your home is overpriced, the marketplace will reflect that to you. When a property fails to sell in a reasonable period of time, you and your Realtor should have a frank discussion to determine whether too high a price tag is the reason. Your Realtor will also be getting feedback from other Realtors who have shown your home. Remember that price is only one factor. You might consider ways you can make the property easier for Realtors to show or make cosmetic fix-ups that are needed. You should also discuss the current market conditions in the Overland Park area.The problem may be some combination of factors, including an overly optimistic asking price.

Listing and Selling Price

When calculating what you can afford in a house, don't just look at the list price. The amount you pay for a house is important when you consider your ability to re-sell the house. Today's mortgage options are increasing the possibilities for home buyers, so you should also take a close look at what it will cost you to live in the house.
Your monthly housing cost is the second figure to consider, and that cost is very much determined by current interest rates. Today's real estate market is very price-driven. Homes which are in the best condition and have the most attractive price tags are the ones that sell.

Diverse financing options and competition among lenders are giving many buyers the opportunity to buy a more expensive house or condo than they thought they could afford--and sooner. There are many creative ways to get into a home with a relatively small amount of money. Ask your Realtor to help you look at today's numbers--you may be pleasantly surprised.

Making Intelligent Pricing Decisions

Pricing your home is one of the most important decisions you must make when selling your property. Some sellers want to price their home based on the return they would like on their initial investment, while others will base the price on what they need to buy their new home. Location, condition, and accessibility are three other variables that will affect the price of a property.

It is crucial to price your home correctly from the beginning because it will not sell if it is overpriced. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you can reduce the price later because you will have already lost many potential buyers. The motivation of the seller is another very important factor. The higher the seller's motivation, the lower the price, and low motivation will mean a higher price.

The state of your local real estate market is one of the strongest determining factors when pricing your home. A professional Realtor will be able to guide you through the pricing pitfalls with a written market analysis that includes the selling prices for similar homes in your area.

Market Trends

Last summer your neighbors put their house on the market and had so many buyers that they were on the winning side of a bidding war. Now you are trying to sell your home, and there's just no action.

The real estate marketplace is very fickle. Many factors come into play, the most important being interest rates and prevailing sales prices. In a strong seller's market, prices tend to escalate until they reach a certain point where buyers begin to just say no and listing inventories increase. When this happens, sellers who price their homes at the higher level of previous sales prices must re-think their pricing strategies. If they don't, their homes may not sell. Whether you are buying or selling a home, it is important to remember that the shift from a seller's to a buyer's market can occur very quickly. You can count on us for sound advice on what phase the market is in right now.

Market Value

The first step you take when putting your home on the market is establishing the price. A professional market analysis can help you determine what the property is worth. Contact a Realtor who is familiar with your area to get prices on the homes that are for sale and to see how long they have been on the market.

Your Realtor will be able to provide you with information about the actual sale prices of homes that are similar to yours. He or she can also tell you about the features that influence the value of each property, such as the number of rooms, the overall condition, and the extras--family room, finished basement, wall-to-wall carpeting.
You can establish a market value for your home in the Overland Park area by putting all of this information together. If you price your home within 5% of the established market value, it should sell quickly.

Marketing Techniques

When a seller lists a home with a Realtor, a lot of brainstorming follows. Who are the potential buyers, where do they live and work? How can they be reached effectively with information that will attract them to this particular property?

Professional Realtors use a variety of marketing techniques tailored to the individual home they are selling. A Realtor will look at different buyer lists to find potential purchasers and use telephone and direct mail marketing, colorful flyers, seminars and real estate and community publications. Contacts will be made to other agents who sell homes in the area to encourage them to show the home to prospective buyers. Realtors combine pro-active marketing with realistic pricing to spell results for their sellers.

Multiple Listing Service

When you list your house in the Overland Park area with a Realtor who participates in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), you get a lot of service for your money. Depending upon the MLS region, there may be hundreds of participating members.

The Realtor who lists your home works to get it sold. This is done by marketing directly to home buyers, but an even more powerful tool is marketing your home to other agents who have buyers. Your Realtor makes all the crucial information about your home available to the other members through the MLS, such as location, size, the number of rooms, the style of architecture, what personal property is included, and any other special features. The MLS description will also contain information about any special financing that might be available, showing instructions, and special needs you may have with respect to closing. It is a powerful tool for real estate matchmakers.

Overpriced!

In the real estate world, a large group of people are looking to buy homes at any given time. These are the seller's best prospects. This ready group of buyers is wasted, however, if your house is overpriced.
If they have been shopping around and are accustomed to comparing properties, they will probably refuse to look at your home. You and your Realtor may know that you would sell for $10,000 less, but the buyers do not know this. As a result, your overpriced property receives little attention.

Don't be fooled into thinking that your house is worth more than someone is willing to pay for it, or that it's just a matter of waiting for the "right" buyer to show up. Surveys show that the longer a house is on the market before being sold, the greater the drop in price from the listing price when it does sell. The buying public eventually sets an accurate price. An overpriced house just sits on the market, waiting for a price adjustment before it will attract a buyer.

Priced Too High

A Realtor has shown you a house in the Overland Park area that you like a lot. There is only one problem--the price seems too high. In a situation like this, you can still make an offer that you feel is appropriate.
The Realtor cannot tell you how much to offer but can give you information about the selling prices of similar homes in the area. The agent will present your offer to the sellers. They have three choices--they can accept, reject, or counter your offer. If the house is a new listing, or if your offer is very low, they may decide to hold out for something better. Sellers frequently build a little negotiating room into their asking price. Prices that are not negotiable at the beginning of a listing period may become flexible as time goes on. If you want to test the sellers' flexibility, make them an offer.

Pricing & Marketing

Pricing a house is the most important part of the marketing process. You want to get as much for the property as you can, but if you set the price too high, you can frighten off qualified purchasers. Your Realtor can tell you the selling price of homes similar to yours. Pricing strategy depends on market conditions, and it is different in a buyers' market than it is in a sellers' market.
If your home is overpriced, the marketplace will reflect that to you. When a property fails to sell in a reasonable period of time, you and your Realtor should have a frank discussion to determine whether too high a price tag is the reason. Your Realtor will also be getting feedback from other Realtors who have shown your home. Remember that price is only one factor. You might consider ways you can make the property easier for Realtors to show or make cosmetic fix-ups that are needed. You should also discuss the current market conditions in the Overland Park area. The problem may be some combination of factors, including an overly optimistic asking price.

Sellers Beware

You contacted a Realtor to list your home in the Overland Park area, and the agent indicates that you might get more for your home than comparable homes on the market. After all, it just takes finding one person who is willing to pay your price--right?

Some Realtors approach a listing appointment as if they are bidding for your home. Sellers often start out with an unrealistic opinion of their home's value, and there is often a strong temptation to go with a person who says what you want to hear. A good Realtor will back up their opinion of your home's value with hard data. The agent should give you information about homes that are currently on the market, and recent selling prices of similar properties. The most heroic marketing efforts won't work on a property that is overpriced. Even if you find a buyer who is willing to pay more than your home is worth, the sale could fall apart when the appraisal comes in lower than the agreed-upon price. Listen to everything, but be careful!

Selling For Top Dollar

When you get serious about selling your home, the chances of your selling it quickly for top dollar will improve considerably if you list it with a real estate sales professional. If you doubt this, consider the fact that eight out of ten homes sold today--more in some markets--are listed with a professional Realtor.

Listing your home places it on the local Multiple Listing Service that is subscribed to by a majority of real estate sales professionals. Through the MLS listing, your home is assured of getting the widest possible exposure to the market place.

Some buyers shop the home market on their own, but most save time and money by using the services of a real estate sales professional. Ask yourself which homes the real estate sales professional is going to show the prospective buyers--homes listed on the MLS or those that are not?
If you still want to try to sell your own home, you should know that you will face stiff competition when it comes to attracting qualified buyers!

Selling Power

After a month of trying to sell your home "By Owner", you have listed it with a Realtor who doesn't seem to be marketing it the same way you did. You ran classified ads every weekend, but your agent has only advertised twice all month, however, there is a lot more activity than you were able to generate on your own.

When your home is being marketed professionally, the Realtor has many powerful selling tools that are not available to individual home owners, such as national and worldwide referral networks and the Multiple Listing Service. Realtors advertise other homes that may result in a call from the people who will buy your home. We work cooperatively and share information about listings with other agents. By listing with one Realtor, you have access to other agents' buyers. These tools enable us to market our listings aggressively to get sales action!

Selling Tools

After a month of trying to sell your home "By Owner" you have listed it with a Realtor. You begin to notice that your agent doesn't seem to be marketing your home the same way you did. You ran classified ads every weekend, but your agent has only advertised twice all month. At the same time, you notice there is a lot more activity than you were able to generate on your own.

When your home is being marketed professionally, your Realtor has many powerful selling tools that make it worth hiring someone who is experienced and competent. Some advantages to hiring a Realtor are the national and worldwide referral networks, the Multiple Listing Service, and the Internet. We advertise extensively in almost every media available including TV, which may bring in a call from the people who will buy your home. We work cooperatively with other brokers and share information about listings. Communication is the key to our success. We use all of these tools to market our listings aggressively to get sales action!

Strategic Pricing

When you decide to sell your home, your next decision is key to the sale--"How much should I ask?" If you ask too little for your home, you could lose money that you could have gotten. Asking too much for your home could cause it to sit on the market for a long time.

Your Realtor wants to sell your home as soon as possible, for the best price. The agent will use a Competitive Market Analysis to determine the price for your home. The sales professional may advise you to reduce the asking price if buyers fail to surface after a certain period of time on the market. If you are serious about selling your home, you should take your Realtor's advice. If the first price reduction doesn't generate a buyer, another reduction may be necessary. The monetary value of a house is only what someone is willing to pay for it, but if the market analysis is done correctly, you will get the maximum amount--and a timely sale.

The Asking Price

Your house in the Overland Park area has been on the market for four weeks. There have been a lot of showings but no bites, so you are wondering if you should consider a price reduction. You want to get as much as you can for your home, but more important, you want it to sell!

This may be the time to have a frank discussion with your Realtor. While price may be a major factor, it may not be the only consideration. Are you making your house easy for agents to show? Have you completed the necessary maintenance and cleaning so that your property is as appealing as possible? Review with your agent the current market conditions and the prices of other homes in your neighborhood before determining that a price reduction is in order.

Even though your price may be competitive, the marketplace may be telling you that buyers just won't pay what you would like to get. If all indicators point to a price reduction, it is better to do it sooner rather than later.

The Correct Price for Your Home

In the real estate world, a large group of people are looking to buy homes at any given time. These are the seller's best prospects. This ready group of buyers is wasted, however, if your house is overpriced.
If they have been shopping around and are accustomed to comparing properties, they will probably refuse to look at your home. You and your Realtor may know that you would sell for $10,000 less, but the buyers do not know this. As a result, your overpriced property receives little attention.

Don't be fooled into thinking that your house is worth more than someone is willing to pay for it, or that it's just a matter of waiting for the "right" buyer to show up. Surveys show that the longer a house is on the market before being sold, the greater the drop in price from the listing price when it does sell. The buying public eventually sets an accurate price. An overpriced house just sits on the market, waiting for a price adjustment before it will attract a buyer.

The Listing Agent

Only approximately 2% of all listings nationwide are sold by the listing agent. When you list your house with me, I will try my best to sell it myself, but more importantly, I will just get it sold.

Colleagues in my firm or realtors who are affiliated with a cooperating broker may sell my listings. This is why I work hard to maintain a reputation for being very professional and easy to work with. I make the homes I list as easy as possible for other realtors to preview or show to buyers. When you select a realtor to market your property, you are hiring them not only for their list of prospective buyers, but for their ability to tap the lists of other people in the business. I constantly lobby my competition, asking if they have seen my listings, getting feedback and urging them to add my listings to the short lists that they show when they have a prospective buyer.

What Is Your House Worth?

One of the saying from the "gold-rush" days--"Them that's got the gold, sets the price!"--is also a principle that applies to real estate. We say that a house is only worth what someone will pay for it, even though the owner, the bank, and the agent all have their own opinions about the "market value" of a home. In other words, no sale ever takes place until the buyer agrees with the price.

How can sellers arrive at the maximum "fair" price that buyers are willing to pay? Buyers (and appraisers) make their decision based on comparisons. While shopping for a home, buyers will visit many similar homes in their price range and measure the features of each one against the price. They decide which house offers them the maximum value for the price. Buyers do not expect a home to be a "steal" or dramatically under-priced, but they do expect it to be a fair value.

Sellers must determine the value that their home offers in order to arrive at the right price. The Realtor will advise the sellers what buyers should be willing to pay for their home, but the asking price is set by the seller.

When Sellers Should Beware

You contacted a Realtor to list your home in the Overland Park area, and the agent indicates that you might get more for your home than comparable homes on the market. After all, it just takes finding one person who is willing to pay your price-right?

Some Realtors approach a listing appointment as if they are bidding for your home. Sellers often start out with an unrealistic opinion of their home's value, and there is often a strong temptation to go with a person who says what you want to hear. A good Realtor will back up their opinion of your home's value with hard data. The agent should give you information about homes that are currently on the market, and recent selling prices of similar properties. The most heroic marketing efforts won't work on a property that is overpriced. Even if you find a buyer who is willing to pay more than your home is worth, the sale could fall apart when the appraisal comes in lower than the agreed-upon price. Listen to everything, but be careful!

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