If you’re looking to sell your home in Toronto, or in the GTA, one of the first things to determine is how much you think the house is worth and what you’re looking to sell it for. Once you know this, the next question to ask is.. how important is the asking price when selling a house in Toronto Ontario? In this blog post, we’ll provide the answer to that question and valuable information to prepare you for selling your house.
When you put your house up for sale, you set an asking or “list” price. Of course, most homes don’t sell for the ask price. So does it even matter what you set the ask price at? How critical is the list price when selling a house in Toronto Ontario?
The list price is actually a very useful tool that provides 3 very critical things:
First, It Attracts Particular Buyers And It Deters Others
Different buyers exist at every price point in the spectrum. A higher list price will attract the attention of higher end buyers, while deterring lower end buyers. While a lower price point will do the opposite.
Not only is this OK, it is actually a desirable outcome. Ultimately you don’t want to waste your time trying to sell to buyers that have no intention of buying your property. So the list price can be used to attract the right buyers for your property and your desired sale price.
Underlisting your property may result in selling it below its market value, potentially leading to missed opportunities for maximizing profit from the sale while over listing your property may deter potential buyers who perceive the asking price as too high, resulting in prolonged time on the market and potentially leading to the need for price reductions, which could negatively impact the perceived value of the property.
Second, It Provides Information To Buyers
The list price of your house, relative to comparable houses in the neighbourhood will provide useful information to prospective buyers. For example, if you live in a neighborhood where the average sale price is $700,000, and you’re asking $620,000, what would that signal to buyers? They would most likely interpret that the house could need some work or you need to sell quickly. And what if you live in that same neighborhood but your list price $825,000? It might say that your house is superior to others, it could be renovated, have a larger lot, an extra garage or maybe superior landscaping and curb appeal. When determining a list price, it’s crucial to examine comparable properties and make adjustments for any differences in features, size, condition, or location to accurately assess the market value of your property.
Third, It Is The Starting Point Of Negotiations
It’s not often that a house will sell at exactly the list price. Any sale of a house boils down to the negotiations between the buyer and seller (and the realtors that might be representing). The asking price simply puts a piece of information out there for negotiations to begin from. As a seller you may have that as a starting point but try to negotiate buyers higher, especially when multiple buyers are interested. On the other hand, the buyer will usually begin with an offer below asking and try to meet somewhere in the middle.
So, just how critical is the asking price when selling a house in Toronto Ontario?
It is definitely critical in selling a house and determining the sale price. But it’s not the only way to sell! If you’re not sure what your asking price should be, or if you’d like to skip the sales process altogether, you can get a cash offer from us! No showings, no commissions, no hassle!