By: Maria Mena

In today’s economy, everyone seems to be focused on price. You can’t open the newspaper, your mail or your e-mail without being bombarded with the deal of the day, the month and, in some cases, the deal of a lifetime.

And no other industry has been more impacted by the focus on price than real estate. Which I find funny, actually, because since the beginning of time, the 3 most important evaluation criteria for a real estate property have always been location, location, location.

While location continues to be a critically important aspect of the successful marketing of a property, an overwhelming percent of today’s buyers are shopping price first and neighborhood second. People on the hunt for deals are crisscrossing cities to find the “right priced home.”

But a competitively priced property alone will not make the sale. While this may sound contradicting it is actually at the heart of selling any product.

The reason revolves around the need for products to have an equitable price-value relationship. Whether it is real or perceived, the relationship must be equitable or the sale will not close.

It is only when value is perceived to equal to or greater than price that the consumer begins to buy. The absolute price doesn’t really matter in this equation. This is not about affordability. It is more about reasonable, sound and understandable value.

For instance, NRT Development Advisors helped The Stacks promote a sale on one of the community’s studio homes.  The attractive price point helped to bring qualified buyers to The Stacks, and the studio quickly sold.  But it wasn’t price alone that sealed the deal, as other nearby communities were selling larger homes at lower prices.  The Stacks team helped the buyer to see the studio’s full value that was included in the price, which included lower HOA dues, a stabled and established Homeowners Association, a strong sense of community among the current homeowners at The Stacks, walkability to restaurants, true loft living with original brick walls and more.

First and foremost, the purchaser must understand what’s inside the deal. It is only then that value can be assessed. It is for this reason that it is critical for any sale to fully explain what is included in deal including the location advantages.