Did you see the California Association of Realtor’s recently released April numbers? Throughout the Bay Area, home sales in April were up, both in terms of numbers of homes sold and sales price.
It’s really great to find quantitative proof of our improving Bay Area real estate market. I wish, though, that these statistics came with a reality check — individual home seller results vary.
Lafayette Homes For Sale — The Reality
Take time to go through open houses on any Sunday and it’s easy to see that each home is unique. It’s no surprise then that every home sale is equally unique. In today’s market, everything about a home is critical to its successful sale, including the home’s location, size of lot, condition, first impressions (staging), and price.
Real estate conditions are really good right now for sellers of attractively priced homes in A+ condition located in A+ neighborhoods. A+ homes for sale that list below market are doing particularly well because the lower offering price attracts a larger pool of interested buyers and often fuels a competitive situation that can push the price upward.
If you don’t have an A+ property, don’t worry. Homes in Lafayette that fall short of A+ status are selling, just not usually as quickly as A+ ones. It helps when you set yourself up for success.
You can’t change your home’s location or the size of your lot, but you can help your sale be successful by making sure that you prepare your property to show well and price it right.
My concern is for home sellers who misunderstand the current market statistics and read them as a license to overprice. Pricing realistically to current market conditions is the hallmark of a successful real estate transaction. Listing too high typically means a house will not only take longer to sell but also ultimately sell for a price below what it would have sold for if the house had been appropriately priced from the start.
If you would like to better understand what all this means for you as either a home seller or home buyer, please let me know. You can reach me at dana@danagreenteam.com or call (925) 339-1918.