How to Price Your Home to Sell

How to Price Your Home to Sell

You have made the executive decision to sell your home.  Maybe you need some extra room for a growing family, maybe you are empty nesters who are looking to downsize or maybe you just want a change.  Whatever the case, selling a home can be a stressful endeavor.  Here are a few tips to make the process easier and could result in a quicker sale.

Make a list: This list will consist of all of the recent upgrades.  Have you recently had the floors redone?  How about the counters and cabinets?  Have you recently painted the rooms in the home?  Any upgrades both structural and cosmetic should be included in your list.  In addition, make sure to include the age of the roof and the air conditioner.  All of these factors will be taken into consideration when determining the value of your home and help you price your home to sell.

Interview a Few Agents: There are countless real estate agents out there who are able to help you price your home to sell.  Make sure to invite several agents into your home to make sure you find a good fit for your needs.  The real estate agent should ask you questions about the recent modifications you have made to the home and find out more information about why you want to sell.

Put Your Agent to Work:  Once you have selected the agent you are going to work with, he or she should get to work immediately on determining the right price to sell your home.  They will jump on the computer and search through the comparables in your area.  The agent will go back as far as 6 months; however, remember it is important to consider the most recent sales first as that will provide a more accurate valuation of your home.  If your home has a pool, and others that have sold in the neighborhood do not there should be a credit towards the asking price.  The selling price of your home will receive credits and debits based on what your home has to offer based on others that have recently sold.

Ask to See the Work:  Once your agent has put together an analysis of the comparables in your area and has determined an appropriate asking price to sell your home, ask to see the work.  Go through the numbers and ask questions as to why it was valued in such a manner.  It may be that something was overlooked or miscalculated.

Take a Tour:  Its now time to take a look at what is currently on the market.  If your home is valued at $500,000, what can buyers get for $480,000?  If buyers can get more for their money, then your home is overpriced.  If other sellers are asking more than you, then you have an opportunity to adjust accordingly.  This is an extremely important step in the process.  Actually having a visual of what buyers are seeing will give you a strong perspective on a realistic price in which to sell your home and will help you take emotion and sentiment out of the equation.

Remember, buyers, don’t have your same attachment to the home.

Pricing your home to sell is not a one-step process.  We first have to sell the price of the home to you the seller, make sure you are comfortable with it.  Then an agent must sell the price to an appraiser who will then sell it to the bank and finally to a buyer who will agree to pay asking price of the home.

I hope you received value from this article.  If you did, please make sure to share and comment below.  Also, if you are in the market to sell your home make sure to grab this Free Checklist to Sell Your Home.  It will provide you with the must ask questions you should know to ask an agent before hiring them.