Pricing Your Home Properly When it’s Time to Sell

This is the third in a series of occasional pieces by Medford Realtor Susan deRosas. deRosas lives in Medford and has been selling residential real estate for over twenty years. She developed www.MyAgentBook.com, a social network with hundreds of Realtor members across the country.

THINKING ABOUT SELLING………..Perhaps the Biggest Decision you have to make is Pricing your Home Properly!

The Real Estate market is improving but it is certainly not a seller’s market yet! Over the years I have sat with hundreds of sellers to review market analyses on their home and realize there is a strong temptation on the part of most homeowners to “price optimistically.” The problem is that properties that are priced above the market will linger on the market; costing you time and money! Statistically, properties sell closest to their original asking price in the shortest number of days. Your agent will determine the optimal asking price for your home based on an analysis of properties that are similar to yours in location, condition and size. Realizing that there are no properties that are exactly like yours there will be certain inferences and adjustments that need to be made. The market activity will be reviewed as follows:

Properties currently on the Market- These active properties represent your competition in the market. Home Buyers will likely be comparing your home to these.

Properties that are Pending- These properties are under agreement and waiting to close. The buyer and seller have agreed on price and terms and are moving through the closing process. The caveat here is that the actual negotiated sale price is not public until the property closes. It is important to review the asking price; original and last asking price, and the days on the market.

Sold Properties- These are properties that have successfully closed. Although each of these categories is important to review and consider, perhaps most of your focus should be on the actual sales. These properties provide your road map for pricing. It is important to utilize the most recent information and, if possible, look within a three month period.
When reviewing this activity, it is best to look at least three properties in each category. You are looking for a pattern and the more examples that you have the better but three is considered sufficient.

Again, I realize the temptation to price higher than the evaluation dictates. The “Let’s try it at this price and see what happens” mentality. Be prepared for the fact that that logic may be costly. I hearken back to a guest speaker at a seminar I attended years ago who told of how she approaches a pricing conversation with her sellers. She quipped, “You the homeowner and me the Real Estate agent are the least important in ultimately determining the price of your home. We market. The buyers will tell us the price.”

Next Up..Preparing your Home for Sale

Have questions for Susan? Leave a comment below or email her at rsderosas@comcast.net.