Avoid These First-Time Home Seller Mistakes
First-time sellers are waiting for the perfect time to list, but there may not be a perfect time. “They try to time the market and are afraid when there are no listings on the market in their immediate area,” says Diana Sutherlin, a broker associate at Compass in Jersey City, New Jersey. However, she recommends using the principles of supply and demand to work on your behalf. “If your home is the only one on the market, demand will drive your price up - it’s always in your best interest as a seller to list before similar homes come to market.” Sutherlin provides what she calls an extreme example: if two condos in the same building, with the same layout, are on the market at the same time, she says the owners will get less because they’re competing with each other. “If there is no inventory like yours listed at a price informed by the actual market, there’s a much better chance that it will sell.”