Wouldn’t it be nice to put a home on the market and sell it to the first buyer that walked through…on every one of your listings? Unfortunately, that rarely happens, if ever.
Although you can’t expect to sell the first time (every time) you can have some expectation to sell before your competition does by positioning. My definition of positioning is, ‘the place a property holds in the minds of your potential buyers.’
When making an offer, do buyers make an offer on the property they like third best or second best? Of course not. They make an offer on the house they liked the best and they decide that based on price, condition and location.
Regardless of condition and location, I’ll bet if you price a property for a dollar it will sell today (especially in a neighborhood of $500k homes) because it’s the best positioned home. Price it for $100.00 and it’ll sell today. Price it for $100,000 and it’ll sell today. Price it at $300,000 and it’ll sell today.
What is that magical number that places your listing first in the minds of your potential buyer taking condition and location into account? Of course you can use the MLS but, unfortunately, it’s just not enough. In today’s market you have to think and act like a buyer.
The MLS will give you numbers and pictures. It’s important to note that not only do the buyers have the same numbers and pictures you do but they have had the experience of physically viewing those properties that you are directly competing with.
Let’s face it, no matter how good the data and pictures are, nothing beats first hand experience.
In order to be correctly positioned you need to determine your top ten competing listings and go view them. Rank them in order and objectively place your listing among them. If it’s not first, adjust what needs adjusting…price or condition (you can’t change the location but you can adjust the price to compensate for location issues). By the way, can you imagine your perceived value if you tell the sellers you’re going to view their top ten competitors and share your results with them (did I just hear seven percent)?
Time is money…for you, the sellers and myself. If your listing is positioned third out of ten, that means two properties have to sell first…and that’s baring any other properties from coming on the market. Eventually, your listing will become number one in someone’s mind. How soon that happens is up to you.
