Right now, we are experiencing one of the most difficult Real Estate markets in Huntington Beach history with regards to lack of available homes for sale (or inventory as us Realtors refer to it). This is causing Huntington Beach Buyers to fight over the limited homes for sale pushing prices to near record highs. So, if you are considering selling your home, How Much Money Do You Lose By Not Putting Your Home On the MLS?
You Are Leaving Money On The Table
With inventory near historic lows and buyer demand at near record highs, why are so many people thinking of trying to sell their Huntington Beach homes without listing them on the market? I believe It’s simply due to bad information and today I’d like to counteract that with some facts.
What is a home worth? In simple terms, it’s exactly what someone is willing to pay for it. Let’s forget about appraisals for a minute as that is just a 3rd party opinion of value. You can have multiple appraisals completed for any property. It’s likely all of them will come in at different values.
On the other hand, a home listed on the active market will draw activity based on many factors beyond just price. This means someone could see more value in a home because it’s next door to their mother or because they are trying to get closer to the beach.
There are hundreds of reasons any one buyer may value your home more than other buyers. It’s likely that person would be willing to pay more for your home. Especially in our current market with limited homes for sale.
The current trend among Realtors seems to be advising clients that they have a Buyer for their Huntington Beach home. They promise that they can sell the home without the “hassle” of listing it on the MLS. In some cases, the Seller may not care about getting top dollar for their home, with convenience being their number one priority.
I think it’s safe to say those people are the exception rather than the rule. II have personally sold over 200 homes and I can only think of 1 case where the Seller didn’t care about the best price. In that situation, it was simply because the house needed so much work to make it livable and the seller was not interested in the effort.
So, How Much Money Do You Lose By Not Putting Your Home On the MLS? It definitely varies in each case but in a market where there is huge buyer demand and sellers have control……..like NOW, you are doing yourself a disservice as a Seller by not listing your home for sale on the active MLS, exposing the home to every possible buyer and letting the market decide how much they are willing to pay.
For example, I just had a home close in Midway City in June 2017. The last comparable sale closed at $535K. We could have sold the home before listing it on the market as I have several buyers shopping in this price range. I advised my client to put the home on the open market at $550K, $15K more than the last closed comparable home.
We received over 5 offers with the Winning Buyer offering $600K in a cash offer. This is $50K over the asking price and $65K over the last closed sale. Taking an offer even $25,0000 over the last closed sale would have left a lot of money on the table.
The bottom line is that Sellers looking to maximize their sales price should be exposing their homes to as many potential buyers as possible. By leveraging market forces and the current supply/demand imbalance, sellers can assure themselves of maximizing their net gain on sale.
If your Realtor is telling you that you don’t need to list your home for sale because they have a buyer willing to pay your price, it’s a clear sign they’re more interested in a quick sale than getting you top dollar. I would suggest finding a new Realtor.
Why FSBO is a Bad Idea
FSBO is short for For Sale By Owner. These are homeowners looking to sell their home themselves without the need of a Realtor.
In a Real Estate market where inventory is low and buyer demand is high, it can be easy to think that you don’t need to hire a Realtor. You can just put a sign in your yard and people will come knocking on your door. While the knocking on your door part is likely true, chances are it will be a Realtor knocking trying to earn your business instead of a Buyer knocking looking to purchase your home.
As we discussed earlier, getting your home out on the MLS is the best way to not only get top dollar for your home exposing it to the greatest number of potential buyers. The more exposure your home receives, the more likely you are to have multiple Buyers bidding on your home. The more bidders, the greater the chances of bidding the price up.
Trying to save money by listing the home yourself is more likely to leave profits on the table. If you hire the right Huntington Beach Realtor to sell your home, they should be able to pay for themselves by exposing your home to as many buyers as possible and leveraging that traffic to get you more money for your home (not to mention taking the majority of risk and liability by insuring you are complying with the endless laws and regulations related to home sales). Selling a home requires a ton of disclosures and paperwork. Not doing this properly can end up costing you more than the small percentage you saved by not hiring a Professional.
Work With The Right Huntington Beach Realtor To List Your Home Today
The current Huntington Beach real estate market is incredibly competitive with very little inventory and high buyer demand. This means that Sellers need to hire a Realtor with a comprehensive marketing plan which includes listing it on the MLS to insure selling for top dollar in the quickest time possible. If you are considering selling your Huntington Beach home and need a Huntington Beach Realtor who understands your needs as well as a strong understanding of the local Real Estate market, begin your Real Estate journey today by contacting Jeb Smith, your professional Real Estate guide for Huntington Beach, California.
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