What is the Right Asking Price for your Home

Not sure what to ask for your Edmonton (or surrounding area) home? First, you should know the numbers on your remaining mortgage balance, payout penalties, closing costs and real estate commissions and what you will need in your pocket to be able to sell your property.

Pricing any real estate accurately is based upon a few factors. One of the main factors right now in Edmonton and the rest of Alberta is the economic and political factors. If there is no consumer confidence, a few thousand dollars can make a big difference in today real estate market when buyers are contemplating between your home and the comparable one down the street. It doesn't matter if you have just renovated your bathroom. Pricing is a key factor in a "downturn", "soft", or "buyers market".

When pricing your property - from the start - you need to take a step back and look at it through the eyes of a buyer and do some research. A few of the key components in choosing a realistic price when putting your home for sale include these tools which a real estate agent can provide you:

Your tax assessment is only a starting point:

Do not base pricing your home on this alone, Your tax assessment is a good starting point, but may have been over or under assessed depending on the real estate activity in your community over the last few years. Were there lots of homes foreclosed upon near you? Did you originally pay too much for your property when you purchased it? Were there several homes sales at the turn of the market? All of these factors are taken into consideration when the city does your property tax assessment.

Know your community absorption rate:

A real estate absorption rate is the number of months it would take to sell the current inventory in your community assuming no other homes are added to the market. An absorption rate is a great tool used by Edmonton Realtors to predict the rise and fall of real estate prices. Knowing the absorption rate of a community can give home sellers an advantage to pricing a property, knowing how many days they should expect their home to be on the market.

Is your home worth the asking price:

Does your home offer value: Foreseen residual or potential income can increase the value of your home. If you have a garden suite or a basement suite, ensure that you have the permit documentation. Value can be in other forms as well, such as living in a community that is undergoing a transformation. Items such as an oversized back yard or outdoor swimming pool do not necessarily add any value.

Is your property a money pit: Some homeowners think changing the flooring and adding a fresh coat of paint will increase the value of a property? This is only a quick fix and should be done will help and if there are any concerns during a property inspection, the buyer will no go forward without compensation or not at all. If you have an older home, there are several items that should be repaired, replaced or upgraded including the shingles, windows, exterior grading, furnace, electrical and plumbing. If you have not been diligent with home maintenance, price your home accordingly.

Location! Location! Location!

If you are situated along or near a busy road, train track, or a factory, your house price will be worth a bit less - no matter how pretty your home is and vice versa, if you are situated along a ravine, park or green space, in a community which is undergoing revitalization or has a positive economic factor, or feature a great view, your home will be worth more money.

Comparative Market Analysis

A CMA or Comparative Market Analysis should not be confused with an appraisal. An appraisal is a price, usually completed by a financial institution and is based more upon what it cost to rebuild the current condition of the property. A Comparative market analysis is usually performed by an experienced Real Estate Professional, to determine a range of value for a Real Estate Subject Property.

It is the current value or price range of residential property in a community that has been compared to properties that would be your competition if you were selling in today's real estate market, properties nearby which have recently sold, and properties that were listed, but did not sell. Adjustments are made to these comparable properties to reflect the tangible and non-tangible differences in value between the comparable homes and the sellers' property.

The Real Cost of Selling a House in Edmonton

Although the Edmonton real estate market is still soft with dormant house prices, buyers are starting to come out of hiding to look in anticipation of our economic optimism and 2023 looks to be a better year to sell your Edmonton house.

If your planning on selling your Edmonton home this year, do your homework and estimate your closing costs to ensure you have enough money to make your move. There is nothing worse than sitting with your lawyer and not having enough funds to close your sale.

When a home is sold, the seller incurs various closing costs in addition to paying out the remaining balance on their mortgage and payout penalties. Typical closing costs for a seller may include any property taxes which are in arrears, encumbrances, the cost of a real property report with compliance and/or title insurance, any permits which were not obtained earlier, real estate commissions, any provincial, GST revenue, agricultural or business taxes, liens and legal fees. If the property is a condominium, the seller may also have costs of condominium documents, unpaid condo fees, levies and the estoppel certificate. When selling a house in Edmonton, the seller's costs vary from a few hundred to several thousand.

Since our Edmonton economy is not in the best shape and buyers have become nervous about making large purchases, there are several ways to maximize the value in your home without major renovations including staging and a little bit of home maintenance. Pricing your home correctly in today's Edmonton Real estate market is crucial and timing is also a factor. Read more on your community absorption rate and find out how long it will take to sell your home in Edmonton.

If you are not sure if you have enough equity in your home, contact one of our real estate experts for a free home evaluation.

Predict how many days it will take to sell your home

When homeowners interview real estate agents, sellers often ask "How long will it take to sell my house?" Although there is no magic way of knowing the answer, know what is currently happening economically and using a real estate absorption rate will give a good indication of how long a property will be on the market. An absorption rate will also tell us if it is a buyers market or a seller's market and is often used by real estate investors. It can also give a prediction on the demand of an Edmonton community.

Knowing how to use and calculate absorption rates using this real estate tool has several benefits. It's the best thing next to a crystal ball. An absorption rate It is a rate at which homes sell in a given area during a given time period. The absorption rate is calculated by dividing the number of sales in a given month by the number of available homes for sale. It is the inverse of months of supply.

For example, if there are 100 houses listed for sale in a certain area, and 10 houses sold over the last month, the absorption rate is 10/100=10%. Which means, assuming no other house listing are put on the market, it would take 10 months for buyers to purchase enough properties to absorb the real estate demand.

As a rule of thumb, an absorption rate of 20-25% or higher means that homes are selling quickly and the market favours sellers. Lower absorption rates mean that homes are not selling quickly and supply is much greater than demand, favouring buyers. Community absorption rates predict the number of days it takes to sell a home in any real estate market.

A few other time factors to take into consideration are the correct pricing of your home, your agents' marketing for maximum exposure (not just putting your home on the MLS & expecting a sale), capturing those buyers who have expressed an interest but are still looking, offering a reasonable finders fee to the selling agents, proper negotiation of all offers, ensuring all of your real estate documents are current.

For those home sellers who are in urgent need to sell to avoid the foreclosure process, there are a few perks your financial institution may be able to help you with. Give them a call today!

If you are thinking about selling and would like to know the absorption rate in your community, contact us for a free home evaluation.