If you ask 10 different brokers what your apartment is worth, you will probably get 10 different answers…
Do you price your property for what your neighbor got for his 4 months ago, right before the financial crisis hit? Do you price it a little bit lower than all the other listings available in your building?
Do you take the advice of the one broker who says that they can get you 100k more than everybody else said they could?
It depends…. pricing property is a combination of art and science in today’s Manhattan Real Estate market.
To evaluate how to price a property lets first take a look at the science of pricing. You need the hard facts, numbers don’t lie, but they have to be taken in context. Closed sales data is stale in today’s market. Closed sales data is a lagging indicator of today’s value. Property that closed recently probably went into contract 3-4 months ago and if it was a new construction condo, it could have been as long as 12-18 months ago. Those prices were negotiated under a different climate. In-contract sales data is key. In-contract data will give you the most recent idea of what your New York City apartment could possibly sell for. The next logical question is how do you get your hands on this information?
As a consumer, websites like propertyshark, streeteasy are terrific for closed sales information. For in-contract information you can either look it up on the Douglas Elliman website, or contact us and we will provide a detailed list of properties in-contract for your desired search.
You also need to understand a holistic approach the macro outlook of pricing trends throughout the entire market, not just your specific market segment. Questions to consider: What price points is property moving the most? How long is property taking to sell? What’s the market’s absorption rate? What’s the average price drop once a properties been on the market? What neighborhoods have more sales? What type of offers are people making? This is the type of information you need to understand or your agent needs to understand in order to be fully informed of a pricing strategy for your property. Contact us Today for this information!
Let’s take a look at the art of pricing property.
We can look at numbers all day long, but there is a qualitative approach to pricing property that should be discussed. The best explanation of what your property is worth is this: A property is worth what a buyer is willing to pay and what a seller is willing to take. You might be the lowest priced line in your building, the lowest price in a two block radius, but if buyers are not responding to your apartment and weeks and weeks go by, essentially they are rejecting the price.
What else is available in your building and how does it compare to your apartment? Who is the competition? What is the condition of those apartments, what about the views, is it a rental property or owner occupied, who is the broker representing the property? Obviously the condition and exposure will directly impact a properties value, but so will the type of marketing exposure a property has and how easy it is to show the property. If an apartment has a renter, you will have to coordinate around the access the tenant gives to the property, and often a tenant will not maintain the property as well as would an owner. Dirty dishes, dirty bathrooms, these factors don’t exactly create a wonderful first impression. If you are selling an investment property with a tenant involved, understanding how that can influence your bottom line is something you should consider.
Ultimately, what’s your motivation?
Do you really need to sell or would it be nice to sell if you could get a certain price? In order to have a successful sale being market educated and to understand what it will take to actually sell will be the keys to your success.
Contact us at 917-837-8869 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Manhattan, New York City. We are accepting referrals.
