Want to Sell Your Chicago Home? Take your Realtor’s Advice about Price

Price is the key factor to selling in less than average time in today’s real estate market. For that reason it is essential to set the asking price appropriately from the start. In many cases that means listening to your realtor’s advice, even if it is not exactly what you want to hear.

Generally speaking, homes sell best right after they hit the market. Buyers are often eager for new listings—and newly-listed properties with appropriate asking prices are sure to attract interest right away. Unfortunately, all too often home sellers refrain from setting the price right because they feel it is too low. This is a common sentiment in today’s real estate market and something every realtor has dealt with at least once since the housing bubble burst.

It typically goes like this: The agent does a comparative market analysis of sold homes in the area and suggests an asking price based on the research. The homeowner thinks they can get more and chooses to set the price higher. A month or two later the listing has received very little interest and they drop the price. This goes on for a while longer, with a few more price reductions until it is basically back to the initially suggested start-off price. The problem is, at this point the property has been on the market for an extended period of time and it no longer has the caché of a new listing. In the end (when you consider the expense of mortgage payments, assessments and other costs of living that accumulate over those many months on the market), it is better to just begin with the lowered price and get the home sold fast.

Your agent is trying to protect you from the above scenario. They have seen it time and again in all corners of the city and they want to use their past experiences to help protect the next client. Good realtors establish a level of trust with their clients so they feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues together, such as price. Even if there is a discrepancy on where to set the list price, an agent who knows what they are doing will feel confident in their advice and have hard data to back up their recommendation.

In most Chicago neighborhoods, home sellers cannot get what they would have in 2006 for their house or condo. Realtors know this, buyers know this, homeowners know this, too, they just don’t want to believe it. However we all need to remember that prices in the mid-2000s were inflated and were not sustainable. Subsequently, the market correction that is happening now is drastic in comparison. It makes it hard for sellers to commit to a realistic asking price because, for many homeowners, the number is lower that what they bought for and, in many instances, does not cover the amount stilled owed on mortgage loans.

If you want to sell your Chicago home in a shorter number of days than the going rate (which is double or triple the market time of 2006 in many parts of Chicagoland), really listen to you what your realtor has to say about price. Ask them to present the empirical evidence and walk you through how it will help your home sell faster than if the price were a few thousand dollars higher. After all, didn’t you hire a professional for their expertise and know-how? Then trust that your agent has your back and wants to guide you to make the best decisions for a quick sale of your Chicago property.

Spencer Mason writes about Chicago il homes for sale and many other Chicago home related topics.