Marketing and pricing go together in real estate like love and marriage of song, though they haven't been the subject of a song in large part because neither marketing nor pricing rhymes with carriage.
All the marketing in the world will not help sell a listing under market conditions such as those here in Phoenix, where there are 34,000 single-family homes currently for sale, if the home is overpriced. Price the home correctly, however, and a little marketing will go a long way.
Such was the case for my current listing in Desert Harbor in Peoria -- the home was put on the market Friday at a competitive price for the subdivision and the area. Five days later, we received an offer on the home. My expectation is we'll have a contract by day's end.
The marketing had just begun ... the Just Listed mailers still were a day away from being sent. But a little bit of marketing goes a lot farther when the house is priced on the leading edge of the market.
Of course, such pricing strategy isn't for everyone - if someone has a longer timeframe to move, or is comfortable with the idea of strangers walking (or not walking, if priced too high) through their home for a few months, then by all means join the homes in the middle of the pack.
But for those serious about selling, the leading edge of the trend is the place to be. As they say in the stock market, the trend is your friend. Fighting against the trend and holding out for 2005 prices in 2006 simply won't work.
The key is to read the signs ... if there's plenty of traffic coming through a house, the price likely is correct. If there's no traffic, then pricing is the most likely cause. This is one of the main reasons I don't compete with price on a listing presentation - price isn't up to me to determine. The market will decide what a home may be worth.
(c) Jonathan Dalton, 2006 / Jonathan Dalton's Arizona Homes | 
