Points on Pricing

Do your research, ask the seller to have an appraisal completed if the property is difficult to price and make sure you’ve done your homework. King sometimes has agent evaluations performed in her company if a house is particularly difficult to price. It offers a range of what the agents think is a reasonable listing price for the house.

Also, when you specialize in a specific area, know it very well. That will give you better insight into how to price upcoming listings and compare them to other homes you have sold there.

Provost places a huge emphasis on absorption rates when pricing properties. “It’s a critical valuation component that is often overlooked. Market circumstances constantly change, and a property may sell for a higher or lower amount depending on its direct competition at that particular time.”

The Takeaway

A report, titled the “ABR Market Brief,” compiled by First Multiple Listing Service (FMLS) and presented by the Atlanta Board of Realtors (ABR), shows that the Atlanta-area housing inventory totaled 16,680 units in June, a 3-percent increase over June 2014. While the median sales price in June was $238,000, a 3.9-percent increase over last June, the average sales price was $304,000, a 6.3-percent increase from the previous year. The report covers Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Paulding and Rockdale counties.

“A total of 83,200 jobs were created in the Atlanta area over the past year, and June residential sales were a great indicator of the improving economy,” ABR president Ennis Antoine noted in the report. “Median and average sales prices saw strong increases, indicating the stable housing recovery that the Atlanta area is experiencing.”

What this means for agents is that, as the economy continues to strengthen, homes can and will price out at higher numbers. The numeral appearing at the end of that price is up to you.