Mastering the Horizon West Housing Market in 2023

The Importance of Pricing Your Home Right For A Quick Sale And Maximum Profits

Spring of 2023 is an exciting time for the Horizon West, Florida housing market. If you’re considering selling your home this spring, you’ve chosen a good time! The real estate landscape has gone through some significant changes in the last year, and even reading this blog post means you’re staying ahead of the game and seeing these changes as they happen. As always, keeping up with the market and partnering with a knowledgeable, experienced realtor will make all the difference in selling your home.

That said, sometimes the surest way to get your home sold is to remember the basics. In fact, the most basic…the thing I’ve been shouting from the rooftops to anyone who’ll listen since I got into the real estate business.

Price your homes correctly!

Why The List Price Of Your Home Matters

If you’re unfamiliar with real estate, you may wonder why the listing price of your home really matters. Most of our personal experiences with selling items comes down to one of two potential options: either you set the price of the item and wait for someone who will agree to pay that sum, or you take your item to an industry professional and they offer you however much money they believe that item is worth.

Many people unfamiliar with the real estate market might think selling your home is more like the former. You decide how much you want for your home, list it for that price, and somebody comes along and signs on the dotted line. Maybe there’s some negotiation, sure, but the ball is firmly in your court.

In actuality, selling your home is much more like the latter option. Buyers, especially in today’s market, are savvy, and they’re very aware of what they want and what they’re willing to pay for it. The price you set for your home is not a matter of how much you want for your home, or how much you think you deserve based on additional features like pools or kitchen upgrades.

Of course, you’re not presenting your home to potential buyers and taking whatever they offer, either. Rather, you’ll work together with your real estate agent to come up with a listing price that gets you the best deal possible while also not turning off potential buyers.

Too High, Won’t Buy, Too Low, No-Go

Everyone wants a good deal. Everyone wants a profit. It’s not a character flaw that you want to get a good chunk of change from the sale of your home. It doesn’t make you greedy or a bad person. However, pricing your home exorbitantly high is not going to result in the profits you want; in fact, it’s more likely that you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Nobody wants to be the listing buyers cringe at and move on to the next. You might be relying on the chance that you get a potential buyer with cash to spare and no trouble spending it. I have some tough news: those buyers know exactly what they want, and no matter how much cash they’ve got to spare, they will not spend a dime they don’t feel is deserved.

While certainly more rare, the opposite has also happened. Sellers who don’t much care for profit but want their home sold fast might willingly price their home low expecting folks to jump at the opportunity to get such a great home for “cheap.” What actually happens is that buyers look at that low price, compare it to other homes on the market, and think, “Uh…something’s gotta be wrong about that house. What are they trying to swindle me into?”

I’m not saying they’re always right, but buyers are knowledgeable, and they’re careful. This is a home they’re talking about…it’s a big purchase! They have access to all the same resources you do, and they’ll spot an outlier when they see one. Usually, it doesn’t end well for the outlier.

Then, How Should I Price My Home?

In my professional experience, and through the experiences of my colleagues, homes priced reasonably–not overly high, not too modest–end up making more money overall than either end of the spectrum when compared to comparable homes in the same area. Find the sweet spot. It’s as simple (and as complicated) as that.

A small personal anecdote: I sold my daughter’s home about a year ago. We priced it fairly, accounting for all the additional features that made it a phenomenal property. When it sold, it was for the highest price of any home with that floorplan to date. A week later, another home with the same floorplan (and yet none of those extra features) went on the market asking for significantly more than my daughter’s home had sold for.

That home sat on the market for months while other reasonably priced homes flew off the MLS like hotcakes. When it did finally sell…well, let’s just say my daughter’s home was still the best sale that floorplan had seen to date.

But Amy, I hear you cry, if I can’t price my home too high or too low, how the heck do I know how to price it? What’s the sweet spot?

Well, here’s the thing. This isn’t all on you. If you’ve got a good realtor (like me, if I may toot my own horn) they will advise you as a partner, not a snake oil salesman. If you speak with a realtor who promises to sell your two-bedroom bungalow for a million dollars, he’s either lying…or he’s not a very good realtor. Most agents aren’t smarmy or purposefully misleading, but some are, and even more will make promises simply because they don’t actually know the market well enough to make realistic promises. Don’t fall for flashy fool’s gold, but don’t fool yourself into thinking you can do better on your own, either.

Get a good realtor. Study the market. Talk about your options with your agent. Then price your home to the market, and watch the showing requests (hopefully) flood in.

Looking To Sell Your Home This Spring?

As we head full-swing into the spring season, now is the time to get your house ready to sell. If you have any other questions about the current market and when is the best time to buy or sell your Central Florida home, give me a call or shoot me a text to my cell at 407-848-8042.

Want to know how much your home might be worth in the Horizon West market? Visit this page to get a free, visual market valuation report on your home. These aren’t the plug-and-chug, data-heavy reports you’ll get from any other realtor. This is a personalized, in-depth, comprehensive review of your home and where it stands on the market today. We make each one personalized to you…and it’s entirely free.

As the top Realtor in the 34787 area code, I have years of experience assisting both buyers and sellers in their home owning journey. I work hard to demystify the entire process for you and your family, so you can focus on enjoying the ride. If you’re ready to take the next step in buying or listing a home, let’s get in touch! I’m always eager to help.