How to Get Home Buyers to Pay the Asking Price

While sellers may aim to get asking price, most properties sell at a discount. To get your asking price, you'll need to have a strategy designed to attract enough highly motivated buyers to spur competition. Even with a healthy degree of competition, you may need to add extra bonuses to the transaction to get buyers to offer what you ask.

Research your neighborhood real estate market. To find the right listing price, you'll need to know how much buyers paid for comparable houses. You'll also need to gauge which direction the market is moving. Ideally, you should ask fair market price for your property. However, if the market's moving up, consider asking a slightly higher price, but if it's moving down, you may have to lower your price.

Hire a home inspector to identify problems and a handy man to fix them. Being able to provide the buyer with an inspection report and repair receipts puts you in a stronger position to ask for full price.

Maximize your property's curb appeal. An attractive exterior could get buyers inspired to offer full price as soon as they see your home. Declutter and freshen the interior to ensure that the positive impression that buyers get on the outside continues upon entry.

Inform buyers that your asking price is reasonable compared to other listings in the area. For example, you could have your agent prepare a flyer comparing your price to other comparable listings to show that it's the best deal. This may convince buyers that any discount is already built into your asking price.

Schedule property tours as close together as possible. This may get you multiple offers at approximately the same time. If you can get multiple offers concurrently, you may get a full price offer from a buyer eager to seal the deal.

Resolve impasses in negotiation by offering extras that don't cost you anything. For instance, you could allow the buyer to move in a couple of weeks before the closing if she offers asking price. If you know that the buyer has a little bit more room in her loan, offer to provide new carpeting and repairs as long as she increases the price by the cost of the work that you do. While this won't cost you anything since the increased price covers it, it will allow your buyer to have the work done moving in.