Pricing Your Home

Pricing your home correcly requires that we look at a number of factors. The most important of which is the goal of your sale. Is it a fast sale, or a sale for the best possible price? Are you selling as is, or making some improvements to increase the value? Selling for the best possible price depends upon your goal and your personal situation. We will review comparable properties that have recently sold, and discuss the trends of the current market to establish the right listing price.

The right price should:

  • Attract buyers and showings
  • Sell for the highest price possible in the current market
  • Help you sell as quickly as possible

Price is the number one factor that most homebuyers use to determine which homes they want to view in person. It is essential that your home is priced right the first day that it goes on the market.

The Importance of Proper Pricing

  • Faster sale
  • Less inconvenience and faster market time
  • Exposure to more buyers
  • Increases Realtors® response
  • Generates more advertising contacts and interest
  • Attracts better offers
  • Nets you a higher sale price in a shorter time

Buyers will be comparing how your home stacks up against the others currently offered for sale and recently sold in your neighborhood.

Common Reasons for Overpricing

  • Over-improvement
  • Opinion of seller, family and neighbors
  • Original purchase price was too high
  • Lack of market data
  • Poor market analysis
  • Bargaining room
  • Assessed value
  • Emotional attachment

Dangers of Overpricing

  • Pricing a home properly and then creating immediate urgency in the minds of agents and buyers is critical. This is because most of the activity on your home will occur in the first few weeks. You don't want to miss this window by being priced too high for the current market.
  • Buyers who have seen most available homes in their price range are waiting for the "right house" to come on the market. That's why if a house is priced right, it will sell quickly. The buyers are there waiting for it.
  • You help sell similar homes that are priced correctly.
  • Don't start with a high price and assume that you can reduce it later. By the time you decide to lower the price, it may be too late, as interest will have already waned and you'll have missed that first few weeks of activity.
  • Overpricing can also turn into appraisal problems; it can lead to loan rejections and lost time if you can't come to a compromise with your buyer.
  • Even if your home is nicer than other homes in the neighborhood, your house won't get showings if you set the price too high. 
  • Buyers and agents are aware of a longer marketing time and are then hesitant to make an offer because they fear (incorrectly) that something is wrong with the property.
  • Fewer qualified buyers will respond than would if the price were right.
  • You lose money with a longer marketing time as a result of making more mortgage payments while incurring taxes, insurance and unplanned maintenance costs.

Setting the Right List Price

  • We provide and review with you with a market analysis of your home's value in the current market. This is a comparison of the prices of recently sold homes that are similar in terms of location, style, and features. 
  • We discuss the recent market trends in relation to the market analysis.
  • The market determines value…together we will determine the price.
  • You determine the price based on the goal that you have for your sale in the current market: Price, market time, showing availability, closing date, etc.  
  • We update you with market trends and market activity of comparable homes once you're on the market.
  • Help determine whether offering incentives would be attractive to buyers.

An agent has NO control over the market, only the marketing plan. Never select an agent based on price.