An often overlooked tactic to help you sell your home

When selling your home, there are many tactics you can implement to give yourself the edge over your competition.  One that most people never even think about is a home’s appreciation rate.

An appreciation rate shows the way in which a home’s value grows over a period of time.  While most buyers are focused on price, they may end up losing money in the long run by paying less for a property at the time of purchase—while ignoring the fact that it has a lower appreciation rate.

If your home is a bit more expensive than a similar property, this is your opportunity to highlight its appreciation rate.  Even though the buyer may pay more for your home than a slightly lower-priced home, he or she stands to make more over time if your home has a higher appreciation rate.

You may be surprised at what a great marketing tool this is.  People love a strong return on their investment, and are often willing to pay more to earn back a higher premium.  By informing them of possible future gains, you are playing a strong hand in the game of real estate.

A great way to make the concept crystal-clear is to supply your potential buyers with a map that shows your home circled, with its appreciation rate clearly indicated.  In other areas on the map, other homes are also circled—and their lower appreciation rates are shown.  This clearly sends the message that your home is the best buy in the area.

Appreciation is also a major factor when it comes to a price reduction.  If your agent tells you that your listing price isn’t aligned with the market, you may tend to feel as if the agent is asking you to take a loss.

On the contrary, if your home has appreciated at all over the last five years, then you’re not taking a loss whatsoever.  You’ve already earned a huge sum of money by living in your home during its appreciation.  In such a case, the only losses are the months of market time that you’re eliminating by agreeing to a price reduction.

Appreciation is a powerful tool no matter how you look at it.  For you as a seller, appreciation helps you market your home to potential buyers.  As if that wasn’t enough, it makes you realize the true amount you’ve earned back on your investment.