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Busting the Myth: Why Selling Fast Doesn't Mean Leaving Money on the Table

Posted by Leanna Conoscenti on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at 4:19:23 PM By Leanna Conoscenti / June 21, 2023 Comment

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Busting the Myth: Fast Home Sales ≠ Missed Opportunities for Higher Profits

A common myth that sellers believe is that if a home sells quickly, it means it was underpriced. And this line of thinking makes total sense. Products go on sale at the store so that they sell quickly and leaving money on the table is a top concern for sellers.

But in this market with limited inventory and high demand, a quick sale does not automatically mean the home sold for less than it could have. 

In the last 6 months in Loudoun County, resale homes sold for an average of about $743,000 in 19 days. When we look at homes that took over two weeks to sell between the price range of $650,000 to $850,000, we see that 81% sold for less than the asking price and the average sales price for those homes was about $737,000.

On the other hand, out of homes in the same price range that sold in a week or less, 70% sold for more than the asking price with an average sale price of around $745,000. 

So the homes that sold quickly were not only more likely to sell for over asking, they also sold on average for about $8,000 more than the homes that took over two weeks to sell. 

The market has been so competitive for buyers for so long that the old ideology of "Well, let's price aggressively and see if someone makes an offer" just doesn't work. Buyers are so savvy and have access to all of the housing market data. So when a home comes on the market that is aggressively priced, they don't think "Oh well I'll just submit a lower offer and see if they will negotiate." Instead, they think "Oh that house is overpriced, I'm not going to touch that." And the longer a house sits on the market, the more likely it is to sell for under asking. Homes that sold within 2 weeks sold for an average of 103% of the asking price whereas homes that took a month or longer sold for an average of 94% of the original asking price. Ouch!

So the key is to find the sweet spot in pricing where you are getting every penny you can out of your home without risking sitting on the market. Sometimes that means slightly underpricing to encourage multiple offers to bid up the price and sometimes that means pricing right on the nose. The best strategy really depends on the specific home on a case-by-case basis. 

Correctly pricing a home is both an art and a science, so if you would like a complimentary Right-Price Analysis for your home, just call or text us at 703-618-6892 and we would be happy to put a report together for you. 

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