By Living Room Realty, December 19, 2018
Whenever a client calls me to sell a house that they just purchase a year or two prior, my heart always skips a beat. Unless you are in a rapidly appreciating market, it is a tall order to recover all of your costs in such a short period of time. On a 5 to 7 year horizon, the seller is much more likely to make a tidy profit.
When the owners of NW Rockwell decided to sell the house that they had just purchased a little over a year ago, we were mostly pricing to mitigate loss. In this situation, the best comp is your own purchase; since it is so recent it is really the best indication or market interest. We ended up pricing a little more than they paid and all of the initial feedback from the showing agents was that it was significantly nicer than the active inventory and the price was competitive. We momentarily considered pricing at a higher bracket, but with the holidays and rising rates looming…they decided not to dilly-dally. And the carrying costs month-to-month were a big consideration too; every month on the market would bring down the bottom line substantially.
After a week on the market, there was a minor-miracle: a solid cash offer that could close in 10 days! We had a few speed bumps through inspections, but we all kept it together to get through closing. All things considered…the outcome couldn’t have been much better for everyone involved.
