New agent looking for tips on how to spark interest for listings

[Henry Peterson]

Hi, My name is Henry Peterson, I'm a newer agent in the Chicagoland area. I'm posting in the hopes of learning some tricks of the trade to help me get my listing sold sooner. 

I believe that pricing the property correctly is probably the number one way to get a property sold quickly (please correct me if I'm wrong), but I'd like to know if there is anything else I should be doing beyond listing on all the major sites through the MLS and having good pictures.

My very first transaction went amazingly smooth, I helped sell my buddy's Condo in a popular western suburb, I worked hard at pricing it correctly, I posted great pictures to the MLS, wrote what I thought was a good description and within two weeks I had an offer and we were under contract and the place sold.

Present-day I am working with another close friend, they have found the house of their dreams, their offer was accepted and now we are contingent on the sale of their Chicago Condo. I now have the task of selling their amazing condo, it's in one of the best neighborhoods in Chicago, there is low low volume in the area and it has a garage parking spot with the unit (anyone living in Chicago knows how great that is especially in the winter), the condo can be rented out, the place should sell itself. The Cond has been on the market now for two weeks, I've had open houses each weekend and I've gotten lukewarm interest and now I feel like I could be doing more, but I'm not sure where to focus next. What else can I do to help spark interest in this Condo, get buyers to see this gem and help my friends start the next chapter of their lives together? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

[Mark Reitman]

Hey @Henry Peterson, are you sure it's priced to sell? I took the liberty of finding your listing on the MLS and gave pricing a shot. One way to do it is by using more recent comparables, even if in different buildings. I took another route - using more direct comparisons - the unit itself and the unit in the same tier two floors up.

Using the previous purchase in 2016, then adding 5% appreciation per year, the value is around $296K. The top floor unit sold a year ago for $286K. Adjusting down $10K for the two floor difference (not to mention the other is a top floor unit) and then adding a 5% YOY appreciation, you get $290K.

If somewhere in the 290's seems reasonable, I'd recommend listing at exactly $300K. This would make it appear in searches for both buyers set up with $250-300K and $300-350K searches.

Even if your seller thinks this is low, the market is still active enough that if it is, you would probably get multiple offers and market value.

Just another two cents. Good luck!