Pricing Your Home to Sell
It’s important to take a realistic and strategic approach to pricing a home.
Homes that are priced right attract more attention, sell faster, and ensure sellers are compensated fairly. Keep in mind that just because a home is listed at a certain price doesn’t mean it will sell at that price. It may be tempting to compare your home to neighboring houses and determine the value, but many unknown variables contribute to pricing:
- Time on the market
- History of offers
- Motivating needs of the seller
The surest way to determine the viability of an asking price is to obtain a Comparative Market (CMA) from two different professional real estate agents. If the seller does not agree with the recommended pricing by the real estate agent, we often suggest the agent take the seller to tour competing homes in the area. Sellers often end up with a better idea of what buyers are looking for in the current marketplace.
Homeowners may not realize that buyers’ tastes and preferences have evolved and, with so many choices available, buyers quickly reject the homes that don’t meet their expectations. A lack of quality finishes, stainless steel appliances, or contemporary floor plan can be deal-breakers. Consider too that an overpriced home creates success for the other homes on the market. We don’t want sellers’ homes to be passed up for comparable ones that are priced lower.
Additionally, if a home is competing against other homes that are newer, bigger, have nicer features, or are in a better location, a strategic pricing approach is needed.
4 Tips on Pricing your Home to Sell
1. Compare the pricing to similar competing and recently sold homes
2. Study the neighborhood and local community for market trends and how they affect demand for the home
3. Determine the home’s strengths and weaknesses as seen through the eyes of buyers
4. Price the home to get buyers interested