“This summer at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa changed hands for $16.4 million”. This was the opening sentence of an article written by Hannah Elliott in the October 24, 2011 edition of Forbes. The article went on to explain how “immaculately restored cars with impeccable pedigrees were white hot, and that although buyers were feeling “bullish”, they were more “exacting than ever”. The cars that people wanted fetched record prices. At the same time, a 1963 Ferrari 400 Superamerica that had been repainted from silver to red and needed high-quality restoration didn’t even sell. Bidders refused to meet its reserve price of $1.2 million.
This article reminded me that home sales are no different. The homes that are in great condition and priced right sell quickly and close to asking price, oftentimes with multiple offers. The homes that are in poor condition may not even sell for fair market value, like the repainted Ferrari, because no one wants them.
So if you are thinking about putting your home on the market, do you want to be the Ferrari Testa Rossa or the Superamerica?