If you're thinking about selling your house you may have come across the term "below market value" and wondered, if market value is the price that a buyer is willing to pay for a house, why anyone would want to price the home below it. There are several reasons you may want to go this way when you're unloading your London, Ontario property. We'll outline them for you here so you can see if this is a way you want to go.

The number one reason sellers price their homes below market value is that they want to get the home sold in a hurry. Market value is the price that a buyer would be willing to pay, but not all buyers are created equal. Maybe the one that is willing to pay you what your house is really worth has put up his Ajax homes for sale to fund his purchase and you just can't wait around for someone to buy his house before you get your money.

Most people who are looking for homes, or the realtor that is helping them, know when a house is priced cheaply and when it isn't. They can tell, from the condition of the house, whether the price is really below market value or if the discount is on account of it's not quite up to the maintenance standards one would expect of homes for sale in Whitby. You might lose a few people who are not as knowledgeable due to them assuming there must be something wrong with the house, but this is a risk you must be willing to take.

In fact, some people count on the fact that most buyers will recognize what a great deal they would be getting, and price their homes below market value in order to trigger a bidding war. The assumption is that the below market value asking price will act as the hook and buyers will want the place enough to continue bidding, bringing the price into the range of market value for Leslieville homes in that area or even beyond.

This is a trick you can try, however, it is much more likely that even if a bidding war does start over your low-priced home, it won't push the sale price any higher than market value, and will probably even stay below. Therefore we only really recommend pricing below market on a Toronto downtown condo or London property if you're actually willing to sell for less than the market value.