Congratulations! You have listed your apartment for sale, and are moving on to greener pastures, but are you just yet? In order to complete your own little New York City fairy tale, you must first sell your old apartment.
It shouldn’t be hard though, you bought low, the neighborhood has appreciated in value as a whole, and you have a great realtor. This should be a fairly easy sell. Unfortunately though, it hasn’t sold yet.
There is no rhyme or reason to it, it just hasn’t sold yet. Both you and your agent felt confident that the apartment would fetch top dollar, so you listed it on the high end of the appraised value and/or fair market value.
Unfortunately, there really isn’t anything fair about fair market value. It really comes down to timing in certain instances, and finding the right buyer for your apartment.
Not everyone appreciates the art of negotiation. Be careful how you list your apartment initially because you don’t want to scare away potential buyers. Keep your list price within reason to try to avoid having to lower your list price multiple times, and follow our advice on pricing strategies.
Partnership
Your realtor is one of the more pivotal parts of your real estate transaction, second probably to only the apartment itself. This is where the team at Triplemint comes into play. Triplemint has been a staple in the NYC real estate market and will help guide you through your transaction from beginning to end.
You want the best of the best to help you through this process; that’s why sellers turn to Triplemint. Triplemint delivers time after time. Your realtor will be able to tell you if the market is hot right now, or what the average days on market are, or even if your particular market is starting to cool down.
You and your realtor need to have a plan around pricing strategies for your transaction, in case your property does not sell right away. This will also help you manage your expectations. Clear and concise communication with your realtor will set the tone for your real estate transaction.
The Neighborhood
PC: Jorge Quinteros
Your neighborhood sets the parameters for your sale. Possible price per square foot (high and low), average days on market, and many other real estate metrics can be derived from the sales data available from previous transactions in your neighborhood.
First and foremost, how are apartments in your neighborhood doing? Are they flying off the shelf? Are there new buildings opening up left and right that you have to compete with? What is the general feel? This is where your realtor comes into play. A good rapport with your realtor will pay dividends (literally).
What’s Your Situation?
Do you want to sell, or do you need to sell? While that may sound like the same question, it’s not. Wanting and needing something are two completely different things, and each respective option will affect your pricing strategies differently.
When you want to sell, you have the freedom to wait, and fight for the best deal. When you need to sell, you are unfortunately coming from a place of desperation. You need to sell sooner rather than later. You are already dependent on the money from the sale of your apartment before it’s even been sold.
If that’s the case, then you will need to be aggressive in your pricing plan for your apartment. You don’t want to wait, and you can’t afford to wait. Waiting can lead to financial ruin.
If you can wait, then you need to do so in order to secure the highest possible sale price for your apartment. This can be where communication with your realtor is paramount.
Your realtor should have already laid out a plan for your listing. Your realtor is meant to guide you through this transaction. If you are not being guided through this process, you may need to look at changing your listing agent.
How Long do I Wait?
PC: Visual Hunt
You have fought the good fight. You followed your realtor’s sound advice, and your apartment is still waiting for a buyer. It’s not you or your realtor’s fault. Your apartment just hasn’t moved.
Real estate is like the weather. You can only predict what’s going to happen from one day to the next, but you never really know if you’re going to get rain or shine until that day. You can forecast and plan all you want, but you can’t control demand.
When you reach the 30, 60, and 90 day milestones without an active offer, it usually becomes apparent that in order to sell you’ll need to lower the price. You and your realtor need to be on the same page.
When you first list your apartment for sale, you get the initial buzz. The market is interested in your apartment and what type of value is perceived to be associated with your listing. After the 30, 60, and 90 day milestones you have to start considering the fact that you will not be selling your apartment for your original price.
At that point, you may want to consider reducing the price. Your realtor will guide you through this process and make sure these changes are cost effective. The 30, 60, 90 is a good rule of thumb, but market conditions may alter that line of thinking depending on activity in your neighborhood, as well as availability of financing and your price point. Apartments listed at $1,000,000 should expect more days on market than an apartment listed at $600,000. Again, let your realtor be your guide. They have all of the metrics at their fingertips.
Completing the Sale
At the end of the day, the goal is to sell your apartment. Unfortunately, you weren’t able to get your initial listed price, but by lowering your price you have the opportunity to make a sale.
For most people, the sale of their home is usually one of the largest opportunities that they’ll have to generate wealth. It’s an exciting opportunity, but if handled poorly, it can be extremely frustrating and overwhelming.
The bigger picture is completing the sale. While every dollar matters, you have to do your best to separate fact from fiction. The key is to realize that some money is better than no money at all. The faster you are able to accept this fact, the more money you’ll make in the end when you sell your apartment.
If you’re interested in selling your NYC property and want a trusted advisor by your side, sign up at theagencyre.com or call our dedicated client service team on (212) 235-1123.
