Pricing Your Home
(Pricing your home in any type of market is one of the most important steps in the home selling process. )
An inaccurate price can gravely affect the sale of your home or how much you eventually end up getting for your property.
An about.com article by Elizabeth Weintraub, "How to price your house," gives a plethora of information on how much you should sell your home for.
"The single most important factor to consider when selling a house is the home price tag: how much your house is worth. You don't want to overprice the house because you will lose the freshness of the home's appeal after the first two to three weeks of showings. After 21 days, demand and interest wane."
"On the other hand, don't worry about pricing it too low because homes priced below market value often will receive multiple offers, which will then drive up the price to market. Pricing is all about supply and demand. It's part art and part science, and no two agents price property the same way."
There are countless ways to price your home and even more ways to get a ballpark figure on how much to list your home at.
One popular way to start the pricing process is by looking at comparable homes in you area.
"Look at every similar home that was or is listed in the same neighborhood over the past six months. Compare similar square footage, within 10% up or down from the subject property, if possible. Similar ages: One neighborhood might consist of homes built in the 1950s next door to another ring of construction from the 1980s. Values between the two will differ. Compare apples to apples."
Looking at comparable homes in your area is probably one of the easiest and most efficient ways to determine what your home price would be.
Also, look at active, withdrawn and expired listings. Old listings can help you determine what sold and what didn't and why. "Look for patterns as to why these homes did not sell and the common factors they share. Which brokerage had the listing: a company that ordinarily sells everything it lists or was it a discount brokerage that might not have spent money on advertising? Think about the steps you can take to prevent your home from becoming an expired listing."
The next thing to look at is market dependent prices. Since we are currently in a buyer's market, there are a few different things to consider.
"Same house, three different prices. After you have collected all your data, the next step is to analyze the data based on market conditions. For comparison purposes, let's say the last three comparable sales in your neighborhood were $150,000. In a buyer's market, your sales price might allow some wiggle room for negotiation but be strong enough (near the last comparable sale) to entice a buyer to tour your home. To sell in this market, you might need to price your home at $149,900, settling for $145,000."
All of these ideas will help you to get a better price range for your home, and will ultimately aide your decision in the final listing price.