Sellers - Pricing Your Home

Setting the Right Price

The best activity occurs during the first few weeks a home is on the market. Pricing your home right is the key to selling it quickly and for the best price.

The Seller sets the asking price for the home but ultimately the Buyer determines the value. Homes sell quickly and usually for the most money when they are priced properly in the beginning. Setting the right price right from the start ensures your home is being compared favourably with the competition. Don't help someone else sell their home by pricing yours too high and making your neighbour's home look like a bargain. 

A good strategy is to list for a little more than the price of properties recently sold and a little less than the competition.Setting the price too high because you are  "not in a hurry;  want room to negotiate; want to test the market first" may sound like a good strategies but……. statistics show the longer a home sits on the market unsold……. the bigger the drop from the asking price when it is finally sold.

Buyers are usually well informed about recent sales. They select homes by comparison shopping and are aware of differences in features and value. In their eyes, your price must be justified in comparison to other available homes.  A Buyer will pay a price similar to what he would have to pay for similar properties. Things that don't affect value are your original cost;  the cost to rebuild it today;  your investment in improvements; personal attachment; what you need; certain types of improvements.

The Dangers of Overpricing:

• reduces the number of showings
• reduces advertising response
• loses potential buyers
• eliminates offers
• helps sell the competition
• can cause appraisal problems
• extends market time.