Pricing Tactics to Sell Your Home Faster

Setting the right price is as much about knowing how buyers think as it is about how much you think the property is worth.

If you're selling a house, make sure the price is right.
Americans are constantly buying. But most of us don't do a whole lot of selling -- which means we don't have much experience at setting prices.
Want to improve your odds of finding a buyer? As you try to sell your home, consider these pricing tactics:

Looking slim. We all know that $1.99 is barely less than $2. Yet retailers continue to use this trick, because there's ample evidence it works.
"When we look at prices, we make judgments in a fraction of a second," explains Manoj Thomas, a marketing professor at Cornell University. "We read from left to right. We anchor our judgment on the first thing we see."
For instance, if you're trying to sell your car that you think is worth $8,000, you might set the price at $7,999. Potential buyers will read the seven first -- and have a sense the car is cheaper than it really is.
Alternatively, you might start at $8,222 and then quickly drop the price to $8,111. One study of price comparisons found that, if the left digits are the same, buyers will focus on the right-hand numbers.
At that point, buyers perceive the discount to be larger if those right numbers are declining from, say, two to one rather than from nine to eight. Even though the decline is the same in dollar terms, "people think they're getting a better deal," says one of the study's co-authors, Robin Coulter, a marketing professor at the University of Connecticut.

Stacking up. As buyers look at your house, they'll have in mind a price they are willing to pay. Home buyers are looking at other properties that are in their price range. You may want to provide information regarding comparable homes that have recently sold in the area.

Sending messages. Imagine you're selling your house, which you figure might fetch a little less than $300,000. A round number, such as $295,000, will convey quality, while a precise number, such as $295,325, will indicate a bargain.
The reason: We associate precise numbers with lower-priced goods. A precise number also may signal that you have given a heap of thought to the price and are less inclined to negotiate.

Trying to settle on an asking price for your home? "If it's a new development and you're trying to give the impression of prestige, you would want to go for the round number," advises Vicki Morwitz, a marketing professor at New York University. "But if you're going for the quick sale and you want to give the impression of a bargain, you would want to go for the precise number."

Cutting prices. In today's housing market, many homeowners are struggling to find a buyer.
Thinking of dropping your asking price? Suppose that, as in the above example, you initially asked $295,325. If you lower the price to, say, $279,595, potential buyers may perceive the price drop as relatively modest.
"You want to make the computation as easy as possible," Cornell's Thomas says. "If you use digits that make computation difficult, it will lead to a perception of a small difference."
What to do? You might specify the dollar discount -- or, alternatively, lower the price from $295,325 to maybe $280,325 or $275,325. That way, it will be easy for buyers to calculate the price drop.

Blogger’s Comment: Bear in mind that the majority of home buyers utilize the Internet when searching for their next home. Most will shop within their price range. Many websites allow the user to search for property by a given price range. These price parameters vary. Consider lowering the asking price in order for your property to show up within the first few page views. In the above example, if you are asking $275,325 it will NOT appear to the home buyer if they set the search engine’s price parameter to search for homes priced from the $250,000-$275,000 price range.

Source: Wall Street Journal

$7,500 Tax Credit Now Available to First-Time Home Buyers

The tax credit is not a gift or a grant but essentially a 15 year loan to the homebuyer and, while it is interest free, will require filing a tax return and will carry the same IRS penalties for non-payment as accrue to delinquent taxes.

Further information and the regulations regarding this tax credit are now available. If you have an interest in the program, here are some basic facts.

The credit is available only to first-time home buyers defined as buyers who have not owned a principal residence for three-years prior to the subject purchase. The ownership test applies to both partners in a marriage; i.e. if a husband has not owned a home in the past three years but the wife has, neither spouse qualifies for the first-time home buyer tax credit. (It appears that this would be the case even if the husband is purchasing the property only in his own name.) A buyer can still be eligible for the credit even if he owns a vacation home or rental property not used as a principal residence.

Single taxpayers with "modified adjusted gross income" up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit. Individuals and couples with incomes above the thresholds may still qualify for a lesser credit, however, taxpayers with adjusted gross income above $95,000/ $170,000 phase out of the program completely.

There is no need to fill out an application to qualify for the tax credit. First-time homebuyers merely claim the credit when filing the tax return for that year. No pre-approval is necessary, but if you are relying on this program to purchase a home you may want to check your eligibility. Your tax advisor may be able to help you with this.

The credit is available even to those with little or no federal income tax liability to offset. This usually means that the government will send a check for part or all of the credit. Otherwise the credit is used to offset any unpaid taxes or increase a refund.

The credit is available for homes purchased between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009 and applies to both new and existing homes whether attached or detached, condominiums, mobile homes, or houseboats. A homebuyer contracting for a custom built home can qualify for the credit as long as the home is first occupied between the April 2008/June 2009 dates. (For newly-constructed homes bought from a home builder, eligibility for the tax credit is determined by the settlement date.)

The $7,500 credit represents 10 percent of the purchase price of a low cost home. Most who use the program will be able to claim this full amount, however, in the event a home is purchased for a lesser amount, the 10 percent cap will apply. That would mean that a $65,000 purchase would result in a $6,500 credit.

There are other refinements to the program. For example, if it is to his benefit, a taxpayer can apply for the credit in a different year than the home is purchased. There is also a possible forgiveness of debt for homeowners who sell the home before the loan is repaid and do not received sufficient gain from the sale to cover the loan balance. Information on these and other details of the program can be researched on a website maintained by the National Association of Homebuilders at www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com.

Source: Grande Financial Newsletter
c/o Jim Burrington