Selling your Home in Las Vegas
So you’re finally ready to sell your home in Las Vegas? Maybe the kids have left and you’d like to downsize to a home Sun City Summerlin? Perhaps you require more space now with your new baby? Whatever the reason the idea of selling your home in Las Vegas can be overwhelming to say the least, but it doesn't have to be. Unfortunately there are a few pitfalls along the way that can leave you with an unsold home and many (and I've seen MANY) wasted months on top of it.
Let’s assume some things first:
- Your property is in good shape with minimal wear/tear.
- Your home is clutter free and shows well.
- Your home is accessible for showings.
- There are no pet odors or other offensive scents that may greet your potential buyers.
- Your neighbors are not hurting your home value due to lack upkeep.
Pricing your property
Did you have a figure in mind? How did you arrive at that number? Did your Las Vegas estate agent provide you with a market analysis for your neighborhood specifically?
Who came up with the final number? If you felt your home was worth more, were you able to produce evidence (recent sales inside your vicinity) to support it? (Please whatever you do….don’t say “Zillow.”)
Let me tell you a quick story about a home I recently sold. This particular neighborhood has fairly good activity. On one street there were two homes for sale. Home “A” was originally listed 13% over the median sold price for that area, over a year ago. Not surprisingly it got few showings and no offers. At the end of the six month listing agreement they lowered the price to roughly 10 % over median sold price with the same results. The listing expired (did not sell) shortly after that.
The home was then re-listed by another real estate agent, this time for 7% (give or take) over median sold price. Guess what? Same results!
FINALLY, they brought the listing price down within 3% of comparable sold homes, over the previous six months. By this time however, the months upon months on the market was working against them. Potential buyers wondered if something was wrong with the home and activity slowed. The home never sold and eventually was withdrawn from the market.
Literally two doors down (and across the street) was home “B.” Another real estate agent (in this case yours truly) looked at the market data and made an honest assessment to the valuation of the home. We listed the property a touch above the most recent sold price, which yielded numerous phone calls and a contract within 24 hours of listing! It closed escrow 45 days later for 100% of list price!
Why did this happen?
They were nearly identical homes in the same neighborhood only doors apart from one another.
Home “A” was overpriced and overpriced homes do not sell in Las Vegas, or anywhere else for that matter. In fact I would argue that overpriced homes rarely even get offers. In my experience people tend to offer within 3-5% of list price. If you’re above that, buyers won’t bother. What they WILL do is go to a comparable home nearby that is priced correctly and make them an offer instead.
Days on market (DOM)
Time too is another issue, as mentioned earlier, buyers begin to think that after 300 days (for instance) on the market, something must surely be wrong with the property. Fair or not, that’s what buyers tend to assume.
The take away
Was this a case of the owner believing their home was worth more than it really was? Did the agent simply tell the people what they wanted to hear to get the listing? Regardless, by starting out too high and refusing to adjust, the owners ended up with a home that didn’t sell. This was a shame because it could have EASILY sold QUICKLY if they had only started out right on price.
The take away from all this? Positioning your home correctly from the start greatly increases the odds of selling your home quickly and for top dollar.