UNDERSTANDING THE MARKET… a lesson on pricing

At that time, the majority of realtors were pricing low to generate multiple offers and hoping for an above asking sales price. In the SFU Burnaby area, when thoroughly assessing the market trends we realized that regardless of whether people priced high or low, 9/10 times the home sold for below asking price. Why might this be? Leasehold properties are more difficult to sell, as some banks won’t finance them or require a larger down payment, thus removing the ability for a number of buyers to purchase them.  Our sellers knew they had one of the best units in the building, so based on the sales trends we decided to price a reasonable amount above the average. If it didn’t sell after 2 weeks, it was decided that regular price adjustments would be made until it sold. It was agreed that in this particular situation, this was the best strategy.

UNDERSTANDING THE TARGET MARKET

After studying the demographics, buyer trends, and people in attendance of SFU we determined that most people purchasing were either: holding it as an investment and renting it out OR were parents purchasing it for their children to live in while they go to school. With the likelihood of having multiple decision makers, or potential overseas investors we knew that the best decision was to have a strong online presence and most importantly a virtual tour.

THE RESULT

The buyer that ended up purchasing the property found us online, and as we had anticipated she needed approval of her parents that lived out of town. The ability for her parents to view the condo by means of a virtual tour made it easy for everyone to make a quick decision to purchase the home. They approved and after some negotiation an offer was accepted! The home sold for $20,000 over the most recent comparable sale, and our pricing strategy turned out to be a massive success.

THE PERKS

• Sellers made a profit off their investment, and sold for a record price!
• The virtual tour streamlined the decision process, and resulted in a quick sale.
• The virtual tour is included in our commission, and the sellers didn’t need to pay an extra penny for any of our marketing costs!

WHAT MADE IT HAPPEN?

Virtual tour & online marketing

Our knowledge of the market, and expert analysis regards to pricing strategies