How Do You Price A Home For Sale?

Is there an easy way to price your home for sale?

One of the biggest stumbling blocks a home seller can run across is getting the right information to price their home properly for the market. Who do you believe? Are real estate agents the best people for pricing advice? Are you able to make a sound decision when pricing your home, or are you biased?

There are two major things that are going to influence the market value of your home.  What has happened in the market and what is happening in the market.  Sure the fact that you have a nice kitchen and your bathroom is Belgian Taupe will impact the mind of the buyer but it won't majorly impact the value.  It will make it more salable, that is what home staging is all about, but will it make your home worth $20,000-$30,000 more than the same model 3 doors down?

The value of a house is mainly determined by the market.  What houses have sold for and what they are selling for (or not selling for) now.  If you have had 3 homes in your neighbourhood that have sold at a lower than anticipated price, you will have a hard time asking top dollar.  There is reason why neighbours get angry when a couple that splits up lists the house low just to get it sold.

So how do you determine what houses have sold for in your market?  Well you could call a local agent to come in and give you a "free market evaluation" but I don't recommend asking them for their "opinion on value". If you are just calling them for that, with no intention of listing with them, you might as well get the info off your MPAC account and save them an evening away from their family.  PropertyGuys.com suggests using a service like what we are able to offer through our partners. An estimated value report or a full licensed appraisal from a 3rd party service are unbiased and will provide you with the info of what has happened in the market.

Take this info and mix it with watching 5-6 houses within  a kilometer of your house that are within $10,000 of what you feel your home is worth and you will have all the info you need to be successful.  The only thing you will have left to get over is the stubborn, bull headed, house proud owner of your home.

M