Considering Putting Your Home on the Market? Understand the Value in Your List Price

Source:  HouseLogic, Jamie Wiebe

The Right Stats for the Right Price
The best pricing strategy?  Consult a real estate agent, who will use something called comps (also known as "comparable sales") to determine the appropriate listing price.  They're not just looking at your neighbors; they're seeking out near-identical homes with similar floor plans, square footage, and amenities that sold in the last few months.

Once they've assembled a list of similar homes (and the real prices buyers paid), they can make an accurate estimate of what you can expect to receive for your home.  If a three-bedroom bungalow with granite counter-tops and a walk-out basement down the block sold for $359,000, expecting more from your own three-bedroom bungalow with granite counter-tops and a walk-out basement is a pipe dream.

After crunching the data, they'll work with you to determine a fair price that'll entice buyers.  The number might be less than you hope and expect, but listing your home correctly -- not idealistically -- is a sure way to avoid the aches and pains of a long, drawn-out listing that just won't sell.

Knowing When the Price is Too High
Once your home is on the market, you'll start accumulating another set of data that will serve as the ultimate price test:  how buyers react.

Agent Hjorten says there's an easy way to tell if you've priced too high:  "If we have no showings, it's way too high.  Lots of showings and no offer means you've marketed well --  but it's overpriced once people get inside."

Talmadge didn't struggle with showings.  She says a number of people were interested in the home, but not enough at the price.  In the end, Talmadge sold her home for $125,000, with a $5,000 seller's assist, a discount on the cost of the home applied directly to closing costs.

"It all boils down to location, location, location.  In another neighborhood, our house might well have sold for well over $130,000," Talmadge says.

When it comes to finding a buyer, pricing your home according to data - and the right data, at that - is crucial to making the sale.

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