Inspira Group Orange County Real Estate Blog

Yesterday I was showing homes in Ladera Ranch to a nice family looking to purchase their first home. We arrived at an Open House where the Realtor greeted us and started telling us about the home. Before I could even get my bearings, I was being told about this feature and that feature and how this home was great. My mind shut off quickly as I just wanted to be with the home and inquire what my clients that they thought of this home.

We walked upstairs and I was happy to finally be able to look around and understand the dynamics of the home and see if it was a possibility for my clients. We stopped in the master bedroom and I asked them what they thought? “Oh no!” The agent walks in and tells us the homeowner just replaced the bathroom floor with tile and how the community has good parking and is freeway close and where he lives in relationship to the home and how this community is perfect.

Sellers often ask: “How much can I sell my home for?”

The answer depends on a few factors. The goal is to always get the highest price, yet there are many variables that determine the asking price and ultimately the final sale price of a home.

There is an art to pricing a home to sell. Every home has a “range of value.” Typically, it makes most sense to price a home at the high end of the range.

Setting an offer price that is not too high and not too low will put the Seller in the most favorable position. Ultimately, the “market” will determine the market price which is defined by willing Seller and willing Buyer.

The price of a home is affected by two main factors: the features of the property and current market conditions.

Even if you’ve never had a mortgage, you likely know that your credit score has an impact on your home financing options. Most mortgages follow a risk-based financing model, which means that individuals with riskier profiles will have to pay more for a mortgage than those with less risky profiles.

Buyers with an understanding of how this pricing model works will be better armed to make good home financing decisions and save money.

Every borrower makes a decision to lock or not lock (float). This is often an emotional choice because the pricing on a loan changes daily and sometimes intra-day. As a mortgage professional, I find this part of the business challenging because market movements are out of our control.

The process is very similar to the stock market, prices change day to day, even minute to minute. We are not the hero if pricing improves nor the villain is pricing gets worse.

We can only do our best with the information available. Over the years, I have come up with 4 rules.