Determining the best asking price for a home is one of the most challenging, yet important, aspects of selling it. You’ll find that it’s a balancing act. You don’t want to set a price that’s so high that it discourages showings and serious offers from motivated buyers, nor set the price so low that it attracts lots of interest, and sets the stage for offers that could result in your getting a price less than its full market value. It is important to do research and consider hiring a Real Estate Agent.

So, what’s your home really worth?
In a perfect world, your home’s value would be everything you’d wish it to be. However, simply put, your home’s value is not determined by you, but by what the market is willing to pay for it at a given time. These days, the market increasingly includes homebuyers who have researched property values online for months.

In trying to determine your home’s true market value, you should:

• Try to be impartial. Unfortunately, the market Is not interested in how much you need to sell your home for in order to buy your next home or meet your financial goals
• Keep in mind that your home may have features that you value highly but are not of interest to potential buyers
• Do research both online and in person. You can find out a lot about your local market through websites and by going to open houses in your area and comparing your home in terms of location, size, features, and condition

This is where it pays to work with a Houlihan & O’Malley real state agent. They can do a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) drawn from a local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) database that offers pricing information, property details, and photos of homes similar to yours that recently sold and are currently on the market.

Price your home to sell when market exposure and buyer interest are high. How you price your home will directly impact how many buyers, showings, and offers you will attract, as well as how easily it will sell.

Overpricing your home, thinking that you can reduce the price later, might seem rational. However, it seldom works. In fact, sellers who overprice their homes – and then reduce the price one or more times – often end up getting less than they would have had they priced it realistically from the start.

Here’s why:

• Fewer buyers will respond if they think your house is overpriced
• Fewer agents will show your home to buyers if they know your house is overpriced
• Likewise, what you paid for the house plus the cost of all the improvements you have made, does not necessarily equal market value. Your home’s value may be more or less than your aggregate cost.

The bottom line: realistic pricing IS strategic! Price your home realistically right from the start. This will attract the right buyers-those who are qualified, motivated, and willing to pay top market value.