Pricing Your Home To Sell (Ignore At Your Own Peril)

Written by Jennifer Boecker on Feb. 7th 2021

Pricing Your Home To Sell (Ignore At Your Own Peril)

Ahhh the million dollar question, what should I price my house at to sell? How do I get the most money for my house while also selling it in the least amount of time possible? This has been an important question ever since the dawn of selling real estate. Pricing your house can mean the difference between money in your pocket for a down payment on your next home, or coming out of pocket to pay closing costs. It can mean the difference between selling on time, or sitting on the market for years. You want to make sure you get the price question right when it comes to selling your house because it may impact many other areas of your life.

Advanced Market Analysis

The first step is to analyze the value of your house. It helps to have a system to thoroughly determine the house price. You will need to perform market analysis on the most recent comparable sales data. You will need the MLS for this. What recently sold near you that is similar to your house? How long were they on the market? Of course the houses aren’t exactly the same, but what aspects are different and how can you adjust for that? You need to go through the analysis with a fine tooth comb to make sure you do not miss anything. If you miss something that is worth more, you will miss out. If you add something that isn’t there, your house may sit on the market longer than it should. You will need to go through all aspects of the house to see what everything is worth. Did you perform any upgrades to the house? New HVAC or roof? New appliances? You will need a detailed list of all of the upgrades that were performed and determine the market value of those upgrades and how they affect the house price.

To Price High Or Not To Price High, That Is The Question

Once you have completed the advanced market analysis, you can then accurately price the house. This is very important, because if you price too low, you will miss out on profit. If you price too high, the house will sit on the market longer than it should. The real question is should I price my house above market value? The answer may surprise you. Most people think if I price my house above market, I will get more because that leaves room for negotiation. Most people think that if you price AT market value that you will get less because people are going to negotiate you below that. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is, the house won’t go below market value because that is the market. If you price too high however, the house will sit, and sit, and sit because people can buy a house at market and ignore your house. What happens is the house gets stale and after some time, people begin to wonder what is wrong with it. You end up lowering the price. Buyers see that and think, “I can wait, it will go lower.” And it does. And you end up selling your house for at market or LESS than market value because by then you need to move.

Multiple Offers, Yes Please!

If you price your house at market, or even a little below market, you have more of an opportunity to move into a multiple offer situation. This improves your selling position, as you may be able to drive the price up. It also attracts a LOT more buyers than pricing your house too high as buyers overlook your property. It definitely makes a big difference.

Now that you have learned about pricing your house effectively, if you need help selling your house please reach out at:

843-473-8176

for a FREE strategy session where we will see if I can help you sell your house for the most money as fast as possible.

To your success!

-Jennifer Boecker, Realtor