What Price to List At

Not sure what you are looking for but would you not list at the FMV based on the comps in the area. If you are at this price then you should in theory get an offer at that level. I would think that if you start pricing above people will not take you as seriously because they will be thinking you are delusional on what you should be getting.

I would say that although i just bought a new condo, i looked at a resale and they were way above what the comps said they should be at. they had a bad broker who said they wanted what they paid a few years prior, and then on top of that i was told they had an offer after the first open house we went to which was close to the ask. Well my wife and I went back to look again, and just could not agree that we would pay close to ask when everything said it was about 50-60k to high and supposedly close to ask i was told would maybe 2-3% off from the 900k ask. Well we walked away from it and it finally showed as closed and they only got 830k for almost 8% off.

My point is had they set the price around $840-$850k I most likely would have put in an offer as that was reasonable based on other sales in the building. I was not going to waste my time with someone who was supposedly not willing to negotiate and that is probably why they got even below the area where they were probably worth as I also assume the first offer walked as another sale closed and hit ACRIS within a few days of that first open house which clearly showed the apartment was priced to high.

There are two competing ideas here:

#1 is that some buyers know what homes are worth, and will pay market value regardless of where you start;

and #2 is that some buyers want a certain discount off list price.

The way real estate pros price in #2 is that we track "listing discount" -- the percentage off that homes actually close at. In Mikev's example above, the list was $900K and the close was $830K for an 8% listing discount.

So if all the apartments in a market are going at an 8% listing discount, you price 8% above where you want to end up.

In Manhattan, the aggregate 1Q listing discount was 5.4% and the 2Q listing discount was 9.1%. The art comes in watching the market and seeing which way it's moving, and knowing the behavior of different submarkets (as many people on this board noted, larger UWS and GV apartments never tanked the way, say, smaller UES apartments did).

Another factor is to look at substituable inventory at any one time. Listing discounts are likely going to be higher in a submarket (say South Harlem) where there's a lot of product on the market and buyers can easily switch from apartment A to apartment B.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

are there similar lines in your bldg that recently sold? If so, try to do a time adjustment, reno adjustment and floor adjustment..can u give details so we can try to help?

If you want to sell, price at market. You only get one shot at being a new listing and attracting the active buyer pool, once that's gone you are more than likely to be playing a game of diminishing returns. Remember you get to play a reverse roll on the other end, so you have to consider both selling and buying transactions.

I think #1 is the way to go in this market. If anything be slightly higher maybe a percent or two at most.

In this day and age everyone has access if they want to what things are selling at in the area. If they do not do it on their own, then a good buyer's broker will also give the comps.

In my mind someone who is overpricing is hoping they get a sucker and i do not want to be involved in trying to negotiate with someone like that.

I realize that different people have different views but i would assume a serious buyer just wants to knwo that they are paying a fair price and that should not matter whether the price started to high or at the right price.

And note particularly in this market an old saying has been ringing true,"first offer is usually the best offer."

I basically agree with Spinnaker1 and others, but would put it a bit differently: Price it at the lowest figure you would accept; show it for two-three weeks, and run a couple of open houses; then move promptly to a disciplined, well-organized "best and final" process. If the bids are close, select a buyer who is strongly qualified with few contingencies, even if she didn't submit the biggest number. Also designate a backup. If contract talks bog down, contact the runner-up.

Price it 5% below market.
You'll get a bidding war, and get the highest possible price in the end.

I disagree with the suggestion of doing a "best and final" bid process. In my experience, the "best and final" offer can be used to allow a preselected buyer to match the highest bid offered and in other instances, the parameters of the best and final bid process are not firmly maintained.

As a buyer, I like to see apartments listed at a price slightly above what the seller would accept. Then I have a realistic idea of what price the seller is seeking and based on my own evaluation of the condition of the apartment as well as building comps, I can make a serious offer if I am interested.

Thanks everyone...have a one bedroom in Lincoln Towers so there are many comps and inventory for buyers to look at. View, condition, building (205 West End as opposed to some of the others on the east side of West End) and quality puts mine at the top of the range (and there is certainly a wide one in Lincoln Towers)so I guess it is all about being realistic and pricing close to where sales were in the past few months...

Wish you the best, eastside and think you are right to price close to recent sales, but want to put a thought out there: it seems to me that *everyone* believes that they are using comps reasonably when they price because their apartment is at the "top of the range." And yet the apartments sit for a long time . . . I suspect that in many cases to a buyer being "top of the range" may mean that yours would be the one that they would choose of two equally priced apartments, not that the buyer would necessarily be willing to pay more for your apartment.

I agree with captive914. If you price slightly below market, you will get the most foot traffic and bids. We priced $30k below market and got 4 offers more than $30k higher than asking price. People who have been looking for a while know what your unit is worth and what they're willing to pay. A lower price gets more people through the door. If someone sees a crowd and wants your unit, he/she will bid up your unit based on its desirability vis a vis the market.

Another thing to keep in mind is that half the apartments that are listed get pulled from the market. So if you want to sell, you have to be in the top half in terms of value. This is especially true for a somewhat cookie-cutter offering, like a clean, renovated 1-br in a high-turning building. I agree with REmom and Captive914: buyers know exactly what your place is worth, so pricing attractively gets you much more interest and momentum. If you had something truly unique (setback terrace in the West Village, picture windows over a park/river view in an exclusive building, etc..), it could be worth to anchor your price higher, but this isn't what you are selling.

yep, i think you're receiving good advice. do you want to sell or do you want to play games? if you want to sell, list at or below market. if you want to play games, do whatever the hell you want. good luck!