This is the bottom-line question that sellers have of every real estate broker. How will you sell my property? Most every property sale involves three primary issues that are negotiated between buyers and sellers; price, terms and condition. In farm sales, terms may be the easiest to negotiate. Those tend to relate to whether the buyer or seller takes the current crop, or when the sale will close relative to continuation or termination of any farm lease. Condition is becoming more of a factor as well, particularly in years like 2019 when we had continuing rains that left much of the area crop land under water for weeks. It can also refer to whether fencing is kept in good repair or if unwanted volunteer vegetation has been allowed to grow in what should be a clean pasture.
While terms and condition are factors, the most significant factor in selling a property is price. When I began in this business some 33 years ago, my mentor told me “a property properly listed is half sold.” As a rookie at that time, I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant, but it became clear that “properly listed” primarily meant “properly priced.”
Marketing today includes not only the usual signage and an appropriate MLS, possibly a print ad, an open house if the property includes a residence, but also drone videos, various web site postings, email blasts, Facebook & social media posts, and professional photos. At the end of the day however, if the property is not priced correctly, all the marketing available in today’s high-tech world will be of no value. Sellers are often tempted to want to test the upper ranges of pricing for a property, but in our experience that generally generates little to no activity. When that happens, a price reduction usually follows, and the eventual sales price is often less than what the property might have generated if it had hit the market priced right at the front end.
If you are contemplating selling your property, work with a Realtor who understands your property type to determine its true value and at what price to take it to the market. Our job as professionals is to work as a team with our clients to achieve a sale at the highest price in the shortest time. Working collaboratively to set realistic expectations is a tried and true way to accomplish that goal.
