Oh the age old question; how long will it take for your house to sell? All homeowners want to know this but there are so many factors that come into play it can be difficult to give an average. 10 years ago around 2007 it was very difficult to sell a house in many homes set on the market for many months, even years. Since then, things have certainly turned around and we are seeing more and more home selling faster, higher home prices and better values. As of the publishing of this post the average days on the market for the Las Cruces real estate market was between 30 and 45 days. This doesn't mean the time it takes for a house actually close but the time it takes for home to get an accepted offer.
Of course, everything comes into play and there are fantastic homes that sell within the first week. I personally have listed homes that sold within hours but it comes down to price and desirability as well.
I have a couple of clients a while back that wanted to sell their home but they weren't that motivated because they didn't have an urgency to move. They simply wanted in on the increasing home values and so they wanted to price their home high. I recommended against it but since they had time to wait out the market and they knew they were pricing high, we went with it. (This is something that you'll find when interviewing real estate agents; there will always be an agent that will accept whatever home price you want however, I always am honest and forthright with my sellers, explaining that pricing high usually will not sell.)
As predicted, this client's home and sat on the market for six months without a sale. We did have a couple of offers but they were easily 10% lower than the asking price and my sellers simply rejected the offer. After about six months they surprisingly found a beautiful home that they wanted to buy. I again urge them to lower the price to a more reasonable market value. Because they had something to lose they were more inclined to price the home correctly however, because the home had been on the market for so long, many buyers were simply wary of the home as if there was something wrong with it.
Real estate agents cannot simply remove the listing from the MLS and then relist it as a new listing. Homes should stay off the market for three months before presenting themselves as a new listing, but my clients simply didn't have the time. We reevaluated the cost, re-staged and prepared the home for a better showing and then pushed the home out with a completely new price point. Because of this, we were able to capture a larger range of homebuyers and the home had an accepted offer within a week.
This is not always the case and I have certainly seen homeowners that have price their home too high only to sit on the market longer than expected and then have a major problem trying to sell once the home is priced correctly. I always suggest pricing it correctly from the beginning in order to get the right buyer in the door and the home sold fast.
Condition is a Factor
Other factors that come into play when selling your property is the condition. Yes, you always find investors or flippers they can see the potential in a home but you will be losing money because these investors simply will not pay full asking price. First-time homebuyers and even many repeat buyers are expecting a home that is move-in ready, and if your property has too many errors, hazardous issues or needed repairs, many buyers will simply pass on by. It's important to make the home as livable and move-in ready as possible.
Even have many clients that have had a preinspection completed on the home prior to listing. We've use this information in the listing showing buyers that we've done all we can to make the home as ready as possible. This is usually in no way a suggestion for buyers not to have their own inspection but it does show a sense of pride and motivation for the homeowner.
Know Your Competition in Order to Compete
Finally, one of the best ways to know how fast your home will sell is the competition. If you can offer a better home for a lower price than your closest competition, chances are your home will sell first. I understand that many homeowners can simply not go as low as they need to but we do want to play with that price as much is possible. I recently had a couple price their home competitive with the areas market however, just down the street a similar property went up for sale $50,000 less. Even though my sellers could go that low they simply thought it was ridiculous to sell for such a low price. You know what happened - That homes sold in three days. Now, I don't know if those homeowners have the flexibility to sell that low or if they gain the profit after that price but it was a screaming deal that buyers could not pass up.
In order to find that sweet spot between a great home and the right price, you need a real estate agent that is extremely familiar with the different subdivisions, communities and neighborhoods throughout Las Cruces. As a residential and commercial real estate agent I have decades of experience in this market alone helping buyers and sellers. My sellers sell faster for more profit than my competition. That's a fact and one you can literally take to the bank.
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