Pricing Your Home to Sell
As a homeowner or investor, when you are preparing a home for sale, you will naturally want to get the best price possible for your home. However, you will also need to price your home competitively, so it won’t languish on the market for months while other homes in the neighborhood sell quickly. How do you price your home to sell, while still making a profit on the sale?
The first thing you should do is look at the recent sales of comparable homes. This means not only homes in the same neighborhood, but also homes with similar characteristics – square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, overall condition, and features such as decks, swimming pools, and finished basements.
Looking at sales of comparable homes will give you a good idea of what the market will bear. It will also help keep you from pricing your home too high or too low, which can make the sale of your home difficult. If it is priced too high, buyers will show little interest in the property; if it is priced too low, buyers may suspect that there is undisclosed damage or neglected repair.
Another way to price your home to sell is to look at homes that are currently for sale in your neighborhood. Again, you will want to compare the features of your home with those of similar homes, to make sure that you are getting an accurate price comparison.
If possible, it is a good idea to tour competing homes to get a true sense of what they can offer to a buyer. Are similar homes in your neighborhood in “move in” condition, or are they in need of repairs? Have there been recent updates to the homes, such as the replacement of cabinets, flooring, plumbing fixtures, or mechanicals? All of these items will affect the selling price of a home. If your home has features or updates that comparable homes don’t have, you may be able to justify a higher selling price.
We also recommend consulting a REALTOR or real estate agent to help you. They have a lot of information and tips for selling your home. A good real estate agent can provide your house with marketing and a wider exposure than you can do on your own. Find out more about what a REALTOR® can do for you.
