Too many home sellers fall prey to myths about home-pricing. Zeroing-in on a reasonable asking price can be tricky as real estate home values are constantly fluctuating based on supply and demand.

To be sure you don’t fall victim to these misguided notions, here are our TOP 5 PRICING MYTHS you’ll want to ERASE FROM YOUR MEMORY so that you have realistic expectations when your home hits the market!

1. We’ll ALWAYS make money when we sell a home!!

Typically, most real estate tends to appreciate over time, some markets more than others. BUT, by no means should a seller always expect to sell a home for more than what they paid. It would be short-sighted to assume that you’ll always walk-away with a profit. Looking at traditional/non-distressed 2017 sales relating to existing single-family home MEDIAN SALE PRICES in Florida, meaning 50% of sales were above and 50% of sales were below, July finished at $240,000, August at $240,000, September at $239,900 and October at $235,558. These statistics were obtained from reports compiled by FloridaRealtors.org.

2. We’ll price it HIGH to make BIG bucks!!

Sky-high pricing can only lead to the disappointment of NO showings which translates into NO offers! When an over-priced home hits the market, a seller winds up sacrificing the most valuable marketing time in exchange for the far-flung possibility that someone will agree to their sky-high price.

3. SO WHAT if it’s overpriced now, it’s NO BIG DEAL to reduce it later!!

Sorry, BUT, the damage of overpricing a home is not easily remedied by simply lowering the price later. The problem is that homes that have languished on the market for months – or that have experienced several price reductions – make buyers assume something’s got to be wrong with the home. It would not be uncommon for lowball offers to prevail, or worse yet, buyers may simply steer clear of the listing altogether.

4. We’ll just ADD UP ALL the improvement costs we’ve done and we’ll get back every penny!!

OK, you’ve remodeled the kitchen and added that fabulous pool. It stands to reason that whatever money you’ve invested for those improvements will be recouped 100% once you sell, RIGHT?? WELL…the REALITY IS that your renovations will see some ROI (return on investment), but you’ll rarely recoup 100% of your investment. Based on data obtained from the 2017 REMODELING Cost vs. Value Report for midrange projects in the Tampa Bay Region of Florida, on average, homeowners can expect roughly 65% ROI for every dollar spent.

5. We’ll just use the value from that bank appraisal when we bought the house YEARS AGO!!

Sure, we ALL have them in our files – A refinance appraisal or a bank appraisal from when we purchased our home. However, those old appraisals are considered “a snapshot in time” and would be considered irrelevant with regards to a current market value. Appraisals are based upon a value, as of a specific date, so it becomes OLD NEWS very quickly. Because of market fluctuations, most lenders won’t accept appraisals that are more than 60 days old.

We hope you found this post to be interesting. Check out our local Hernando County Market Conditions on a regular basis!

Thinking of buying or selling a home in the Spring Hill, Brooksville, Weeki Wachee and Hernando Beach areas of Hernando County, Florida? Visit us TODAY at www.GailSellsFloridaHomes.com to explore our state-of-the-art, MLS Map Search Feature … Watch for our next BLOG POST on December 14th.

Until then… it’s all about YOU!