March will set records in Loudoun County for home listing prices, primarily due to scarcity. Pamela Jones of Extraordinary Transitions, Long & Foster Realtors, warns home sellers, “If you wait until the metro opens, you’ll have missed the best marketing window in a decade.”
She and her husband Dave have collectively sold nearly 1,000 homes in Loudoun County since 2000, typically above the asking price, so they’ve seen it all. She explains, “The glut of homes on the market in Reston when the metro finally opened depressed home prices considerably.”
That said, your most important decision is not when but WHO should help you sell your home. “You wouldn’t choose a newly licensed surgeon to replace your knee, so why would you list your home with your friend or spouse of a co-worker who sells houses part-time to supplement their income?”
She and Dave have developed 10 critical questions to ask your prospective Realtor before making that choice.
1. What is your personal selling price to listing price ratio?
2. What is the average number of days on the market for your listings?
3. Of the homes that you listed in the last 12 months that did not sell, why didn’t they?
4. What percentage of your sales last year were listings actually sold vs. buyer sales?
5. How many homes did you sell last year?
6. Can you share with me the contact information of your last 10 clients?
7. Are you an active or passive agent?
8. Where do you think the buyer for my home will come from and how will you reach that market?
9. The National Association of Realtors says 92% of buyers start their search online. On which websites will you post my home?
10. What other things do you do besides real estate?
Pamela, is a career REALTOR® and a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist. For a 16-page workbook of invaluable insights on home-selling, call her at 703-726-3409, email PAMELA.JONES@longandfoster.com or visit http://pamsellsfinehomes.com/.