Understanding Pricing In Real Estate Vol. 2

“They didn’t say anything about the price”

I’ve heard it countless times when it comes to showing feedback, especially for homes that aren’t selling, and it’s easy to misinterpret the feedback. 

With feedback, oftentimes you hear something along the lines of: 

“Wish the basement were bigger”

“Wish it had that fourth bedroom”

“Wish the kitchen was more updated”

“Wish it didn’t back to a busy road”

Which can be frustrating, especially if you have a tired listing you’re trying to move off the market. That type of feedback doesn’t give you much to go off of. 

After all, it’s not so easy to just enlarge the basement, or quickly add that extra bedroom, or update the kitchen on the fly, or so easily move the house away from the busy road. 

But, there is a handy lever to make the offer more compelling - adjusting the price. 

As posited in a previous post - What's It Take to Sell a Home, about 95% of getting offers coming in is price. The more wrong the price, the longer the home sits on the market or doesn’t sell. The more right the price, the more attention and the quicker it moves. At the end of the day, price is the factor that determines whether you’re selling or not. 

This means when you’re getting feedback on your listings - they’re always talking about price, even when they’re not talking about the price.

Rarely do they say, “if only it were $8,475 less expensive and you’d be on the money.” Instead, it’s that the basement feels cramped or the kitchen looks like it’s from 1998, etc.

So, how to interpret showing feedback most effectively and accurately for your clients and yourself? Simple. Just add three little words: For The Price:

“Wish the basement were bigger, for the price”

“Wish it had a fourth bedroom, for the price”

“Wish the kitchen was more updated, for the price”

“Wish it didn’t back to a busy road, for the price”

Just adding those words zeroes in on the heart of the matter  - those buyers were expecting a little more for the price, or a bit more of a competitive price for the home as it sits. No harm, no foul. Now you’re dealing with objective data versus grasping at straws. This perspective on price also keeps sellers and their agents from looking elsewhere, when the answer is right in front of them.