One Way to Sell Your House: Ask the Right Price

In the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1991 hit “Learning to Fly,” the long-faced singer bemoans how “what goes up, must come down.”

That’s the feeling as the once red-hot real estate market across the country cooled for the past few years. Patch wondered what the local and national real estate scenes are now, and asked some Glen Ellyn experts in the field about it.

Beth Lindner is a Keller Williams Realty broker representing sellers. She finds that her area is holding its own.

“I think the media paints a pretty bleak picture of real estate,” she said. “I think nationwide there are certainly areas that are more bleak than others, but in Glen Ellyn our numbers are looking really good. Our market is very active. In the last week to 10 days, we’ve had four properties in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn priced at $700,000 and over gone to contract.”

Though homes under $700,000 are also getting contracts, the sale of luxury properties seem to be a gauge for the market.

“It’s been a very barren price range where we haven’t had a lot of homes go under contract in the high end,” she said. “When you see the high-end homes going on, that starts a feeling where things are improving and getting better.

“For example, in the past three months, we’ve had 67 homes in all price ranges go under contract, and there are about 400 properties in total for sale. Right now there’s a 4-to-1 velocity meaning four homes for every buyer who’s looking.”

Price is everything to buyers, said Joe Champagne, of Baird & Warner.

"Buyers can recognize a great deal when they see one, and have been much more aggressive in what they are offering on a home,” he said. “It has not been uncommon this spring to see multiple offers on homes that are priced well. This is good news for sellers but in order to capture that buyer, you must have a compelling price or the home will sit on the market for some time.”

He added that this is the perfect time to find a Glen Ellyn home at a good price.

“In some cases we are seeing 2001, 2002 and 2003 prices,” Champagne said. “You can definitely get much more for your money and I see prices coming down just a bit more this spring because the market has been so competitive.”

As for the rest of this year, Lindner describes the situation as a wait-and-see game when it comes to personal finances, volatile interest rates and the possible phasing out of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, government enterprises that deal with secondary home mortgages.

“I do think that interest rates are going to go up,” she said. “We’re hearing that consistently from all our sources—banks, lenders and economists. If the interest rate goes up, obviously purchasing power goes down and that’s going to affect the first-time buyer and also buyers who are in the mid-range price levels. I personally think that Wheaton and Glen Ellyn are pockets that took longer to be affected by the declining real estate market.”

She said those towns will climb out of the situation faster because they are landlocked, and have quality schools and park districts and well-established downtown districts. Both towns attract professional populations and have a low percentage of short sales or foreclosed properties.

“I think it’s going to be a good 2011,” Lindner said. “I’m very encouraged with what I’m seeing in the first few months of the year.”

That forecast sounds promising for sellers who are attracting potential buyers. Champagne urges sellers to price their homes appropriately from the start.

“Do not fall into the trap of thinking your house is worth more and coming on at an aggressive price to try to ‘test’ the market,” he said. “That never seems to work. A competitive list price is the absolute key in giving yourself the best chance to sell.”

Lindner also agrees with Champagne on that point. She said sellers should “price their homes slightly low” to be chosen.

“Buyers will choose a home that is completely redone and updated that is the same price as a home that isn’t updated,” she said.

Lindner added that many buyers search the Internet for potential purchases. To look appealing and attractive on the Web, she suggests sellers have their homes professionally photographed and staged.

Lastly, she suggests sellers inspect the attic for insidious elements such as radon gas and mold.

“Over 80 percent of our homes in this part of DuPage County have radon,” she said. “That’s a ‘curable’ thing with radon remediation systems. Many of our homes end up having mold in the attic because bathroom vents are not connected outside the roof line. So the most meticulous housekeepers will find out that there’s mold underneath the insulation or along the edges of the attic because of the way the house was constructed. It’s much better to take care of that and just be aware of what's going on with your house before you put it on the market.”