Kathy Jackson

There’s no denying it: selling your home in this real estate market is not easy. Home prices are going down, and as much value as you may feel your home has, the current Henderson, KY real estate market conditions might say differently. In this buyer’s market, pricing your home is imperative to getting your property sold quickly and for the best price possible. While this might sound simple enough, pricing your Henderson, KY home for sale is far from easy. It is an art form that will require some help from your Henderson real estate agent.

As someone who as lived and worked within the Henderson, KY real estate industry for many years now, I have learned both what to do and what not to do when pricing a home for sale. I always advise my clients to price their home correctly from the beginning in order to avoid several price reductions and a lengthy listing process. These are some of the most common errors that I have seen several home buyers in the Henderson, KY area make that you can avoid when selling your home:

1. Many home sellers don’t do their research. It’s important to know what other homes in your area are selling for right now in order to get an idea of a price point for your own property, but you shouldn’t rely on that alone. Use a Comparative Market Analysis to see what other homes in your area that are similar to yours are selling for. You should also make sure that you investigate past sales to see the pricing trends of homes in your Henderson, KY neighborhood.

2. Hiring the listing agent who quotes you the highest price isn’t always wise. If there is one Henderson real estate agent in particular who is quoting a significantly higher listing price than some of the others you talk to, that is a red flag. That particular agent may be trying to “buy” your listing by promising unrealistic results. Instead of taking this approach, choose the agent who can back their price up with comparative market data.

3. Try not to get too emotionally attached. While this can be tricky, it’s important to remain as realistic and objective as possible when pricing your home. As someone who has spent many years in one place, your home will most likely be invaluable to you, and no price will be high enough. Focus on the statistics from your Comparative Market Analysis and the advice given to you by our real estate agent. You will find that your home will get sold much faster and for the best possible price.

4. Never overprice the home from the beginning. Your home sees the most traffic in its first days on the Henderson, KY real estate market. If you overprice your home from the beginning, many buyers will be immediately turned off, forcing you to lower your asking price. This can not only prolong the selling process, but it can also cause you to get less money from the sale, as once you are lower the price once, many buyers will wait for you to lower it again.

5. Don’t overprice your home because you have “time.” Even if you have all the time in the world to sell your home, overpricing is never a good idea. You have a greater chance of selling your Henderson, KY home if it is fresh on the market. Waiting it out could actually cause you to lose money on the sale, because waiting it out will likely mean that you have lowered the cost several times.

6. Don’t chase the market. Overpricing your home could create a chase against the local real estate market numbers. Even if you drop your home price incrementally throughout the selling process, if home prices in you area have dropped significantly within that time frame, then chances are your home will still be overpriced by the market’s standards. This can create a lengthy selling process, which will lend buyers to believe something is wrong with your home.

As a Henderson, KY real estate agent, I make it my responsibility to make sure that my clients avoid these six mistakes when pricing their home. Utilizing the right real estate professional and pricing your home correctly from the beginning will lend itself to a faster home sale, with you getting the best value for your property. If you would like a complimentary Comparative Market Analysis, or want to see some of the great homes on the Henderson, KY real estate market, don’t hesitate to contact me! I’d be happy to help in any way I can. I hope to hear from you soon!

Kathy Jackson
RE/MAX Superior REALTORS
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I may ruffle a few feathers with the questions below, but I don't like seeing sellers pay premium prices for discounted services.

I see it every week, after week, after week.  And, it continues to surprise and dismay me!  Sellers are getting ripped off in my market......and they keep listing with the same agents! 

There are tons tools available today such as digital cameras, video, multitudes of free listing sites, blogging sites, social media, Twitter and many agents are continuing to do the MINIMUM for their sellers.  They take a few pictures, no virtual tour let alone a *gasp* video.

Now, I will say there are a few agents, as evidenced by the table below, that are putting the maximum number of photos in the MLS and doing at least a virtual tour.  But, sadly, the vast majority or not. 

Why are seller's settling for substandard service?

If you are thinking of hiring a REALTOR to market your property, here's a few qustions to ask:

1. How many websites do you utilize to market properties?  How many are in the top 10 of utilized real estate websites?

2. Do you have your own website?  What is the web Address?  How many hits per month do you receive?

3.  How many pictures will they post on the MLS? Is this the maximum number? (FYI, for the Henderson Audubon Board of REALTORS, the maximum is 9 pictures)  If no, why not?

4. Will your listing have a Virtual Tour at minimum and/or a Video of the property?

5.  Do you have an active blog?  What is the web address?

6. If they are unable or unwilling to do all of the above in addition to any traditional marketing, are they willing to discount their fee since they are giving discounted service?

The bottom line is this: Why settle for less than you and your home deserve?  If you are looking for a REALTOR that uses all the tools available give me a call or click today!

A while back, I read a great blog by Clint Miller called The Sins of the Seller.  It was a great post that really highlighted how a home is viewed from the buyer's perspective.  However, I keep thinking about that blog.  Was it really the seller's fault their home showed so poorly?  Or could it have been the agents fault? Or was it both?  So, I put together my own list of Sins:  Sins of the REALTOR! 

1.  Not preparing a detailed CMA-also call GUESS-TIMATING MARKET VALUE!  Part of our job is education of our potential clients.  I believe this includes completing a detailed CMA that shows the seller what similar homes are selling for in their area.  If similar homes are comping between $100,000 and $110,000, then it is a waste of the seller's time to list the home for $125,000.

2.  Not advising seller's how to prepare their home for showing.  As agents, we go into all kinds of homes and we see first hand what buyer's are looking for in a home.  Having a clean, uncluttered home shows much better than a dirty, smelly, congested home.  We need to tactfully let potential clients know what can affect the sale of their home.  As an agent, if you don't have an eye for staging, suggest that your client hire a stager to make their home show ready.

3.  Not advising clients to remove pets during showings.  This is not only a good idea for the best showing, but for the safety of both the pet and potential buyers.  How would you feel if Fluffy the cat escaped through the door during showing?  Or if cute little Sparky bit a potential buyer?  Not only could your client be looking at potentially expensive hospital bills, but also the loss of their beloved pet.  I've also had several clients who are extremely allergic to pets and started swelling up the second we entered the home. Little Zena-Weiner on left is so cute, but not for everyone!

4.  Not suggesting the client have a home inspection before listing the home.  Yes, this costs money, but the long term benefits are worth it.  With a pre-listing home inspection, the seller will know of any potential problem areas and can address them before it scares off a buyer.

5.  Following the 3 P's. The 3 P's are Place an ad in the paper, Put a sign in the yard and Pray.  Marketing a home has changed so much in the last few years, let alone the last decade.  Agents must keep up-to-date on the latest means of reaching potential buyers.  This has to include Social Networking sites, blogging, websites, email, texting, etc.  The days of the 3 P's being the only way to market a property are gone.

6.  Don't bother communicating with your sellers! Seriously, I have heard many tales from my clients how they listed their home with Suzy Realtor and once the sign was in their yard-never heard from her until the listing was going to expire!! Then Suzy showed up at their home with an extension in hand with a laundry list of ideas on how to get their home sold.  I always make it a piont to keep in touch with my clients at least twice a month, sometimes much, much more!

7.  Ignore the "traditional" methods of advertising.  Yes, I know what I said in #5 above, but there are some markets where some of the traditional methods still work better than Web 2.0.  There is one community here in my neck of the woods that I have to run an ad in the local paper and include my listings in the Catalog Book.  All of the internet contact I have received for one of those properties has been from a potential buyer that is out of state!  So, make sure you don't discount something that does work and add to it with other methods too.

8.  Don't bother updating the CMA.  In my area, it's not uncommon for a property to be on the market for 100+ days.  It's important to update the CMA to make sure that the pricing is still on target for the home.

9.  Video-hah! Clear pictures? Seriously one of my big pet peeves is when I see a listing with no Virtual Tour, one or two photos and they are blurry to boot.  I really just want to find the nearest wall and beat my head against it!!  Take the time to look at your pics & video on the mls or website.  Sometimes, what looks good on the camera does not translate well to the internet!

10.  Hello, you've reached Suzy Realtor and I'm just too darn busy to answer or return your call! I know we can't answer our phones every time it rings, but I have know several agents that never answer their call.  As I'm dialing their number I am rehearsing the message I'm about to leave.  I also know that I will probably be calling them back later in the day because they are too busy to call me.  See above for instructions on beating your head on the wall!

Well folks, there's my ten Sins of the REALTOR.  I hope you enjoyed it.  I plan to be "sin-free" long into my career!  If you are looking for a sinless REALTOR, please feel free to call me-I will answer my phone!