Here is the secret to pricing your condo to sell in London, Ontario: It’s not what you think it is worth; it’s what a reasonable buyer will think your condo is worth and willing to pay.
You may be thinking – Hey, wait, if I left it up to a buyer, they would pay me as little as possible for my condo in London, Ontario. True, they would. But in the real world, every buyer knows that you, the seller, have no obligation to sell your condo at any price. To purchase your condo, the buyer must make you an offer you can’t or won’t refuse. One that will motivate you to pack, hire a local mover, wave goodbye and say sayonara.
Successful condo sellers understand that a Realtor’s responsibility is to provide marketing, expert advice, and negotiating services. Your Realtor does not own your property or make the final pricing decisions; you do, and ultimately your asking price will determine how quickly it sells and at what price.
Focus on the Major Key Issues & Be Realistic
The most common mistakes sellers (and some Realtors) make when choosing a price:
- Putting the property on the market at an unrealistic price, and the property must be priced on a comparative basis to other similar properties. (I should add that everyone thinks their home is different, but buyers and their agent doesn’t think so.)
- They are not cognizant of a seller’s market or a buyers’ market.
- Thinking that buyers aren’t comparing your place, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, with every other apartment or townhouse condo on the market
Many sellers will argue that their condo has an insurance replacement value, an appraised value, or a tax assessed value, but unless your insurance agent, your banker, or tax assessor is willing to write you a cheque for the condo – guess what? None of that matters. A condo without a buyer has no value in the marketplace. Sure, it might have value to you, the seller, and again, it might have value to your banker, your insurance agent, your Uncle Bob, your hairdresser, your friends at work, your drinking buddies or your bridge club or your appraiser. But none of these are buyers!
