Tips For Pricing A Short Sale

We often get questions about the best way to price a short sale. In reality, many of the same principles that go into pricing a non-distressed property  apply equally to setting the list price of a short sale. Price depends on the location of the property, its condition, the availability of strong comparable properties, and the amount of competitive inventory.

When pricing a short sale,  the key is to strike a balance between what a buyer will pay and what a bank will approve. It's not unusual to see agents apply an across the board discount to a short sale property (for example, a 10% price reduction). This is a mistake. In so-called "hot" neighborhoods, short sales often can be priced at market value.  When the bank's appraiser does a value determination of a short sale property, they generally will try to seek out comparable short sales in the neighborhood. If there are none, the appraiser will use non-distressed properties as comps. If an agent lops $30,000 off the value of a home just because it’s a short sale, it's unlikely that such low offers would be approved by the bank.  

An added note: If you want to dispute a short sale valuation, and your client's loan is with Bank of America, BofA has launched a streamlined process for considering an alternate value.