Range Pricing Gives Sellers More Control

While listings may be on the market a little longer than they were a year ago, Southern California homes are still appreciating at an estimated 5 to 6 percent annually. Well maintained homes in nice neighborhoods are still selling.

The most important key to closing sales these days is realistic pricing. Realistic pricing is the meeting point of what the buyer is willing to pay and what the seller is willing to take.

Although the seller is always the one to set the price, they are now being encouraged to look carefully at the competition and price their homes accordingly.

One way to do that is to make use of value-range marketing-a strategy that lists homes within a price range instead of at a fixed asking price.

In a hot market, range pricing can enhance the bidding process and encourage a higher sale price than the top end of the range. In a slower market, it offers reasonable parameters that can help get negotiations going.

Range pricing allows the seller to control the sale price while inviting more buyers and offers-often bringing together buyers and sellers who might otherwise not have been in the same ballpark.

For example, a buyer willing to spend up to $250,000 might not look at a home priced at a fixed $275,000, but he would probably look at it if it were priced within a range of $225,000 to $275,000. The simple fact is that range pricing increases your buyer universe.

The good news for sellers, is that they maintain control of the sale price because they are not obligated to accept any offer. The seller is only obligated to respond in writing to all offers within the range. In most cases, that paves the way for further negotiation.

It's better to get an offer at the bottom of a range than to have nothing going on at all. If the property has been listed for weeks or months and you've only had offers at the bottom end of the range, that's a very telling situation. The fact is, it's probably overpriced even within it's range.