Each home, neighborhood, market and area are different so pricing requires a custom fit for your situation. Having access to sold data and knowing the trends in your area will help guide you to setting an appropriate price. Pricing strategies often can make or break your home's success on the market. Too high and you risk not getting any traffic, too low and you will wonder if you under priced it at closing. Having an agent with actual sold data, market knowledge and experience will help you choose a successful list price.
Pricing a property is probably one of if not the most important tasks when listing your home. You don’t want to go to high and risk sitting on the market too long, but you don’t want to under price it in fear of leaving money on the table. Let’s cover 3 important tips to consider when deciding on a price for your home.
Comparable DATA - Use actual sold comparable homes to give you an idea of where the market is, these comparable properties should be nearby, similar in style, size, condition and usually within the last 6 months. You want to use ACTUAL comparable data, which means using a REALTOR® with access to the MLS which will list that sold data for you to use to your advantage. Remember that in Texas sales prices are not made public, they are however disclosed in the MLS system, which your REALTOR® has access to. The last thing you want to use are online estimates, Zestimates®, or county appraisal tax values. Use actual sold data that is up to date not estimates.
Know Your Property - Knowing your property data such as square footage, number of rooms, flooring type, year built, age of important components such as your hvac system is critical to know where you stand. The reason this is so important is you will be comparing your property to others, which may be similar in some aspects but not all. Be prepared to make adjustments for size, conditions and features.
Don’t Be Bias - Yes it is really easy to justify why your property should be priced higher than the rest of the properties but don’t get caught up in that mindset. Instead be realistic, put yourself in the consumers shoes and compare your home features & price to the others.
Know The Market - Get out and shop your competition, know your market. Figure out what similar homes are not only selling for but how fast are they moving. Is it a buyers market or sellers? How long are they on the market before it finally sells? Are there incentives? Seller concessions? All these items are extremely important because those are factors you have to take in to account when you consider your listing price.
Pricing is key to a successful home and often can be one of the toughest decisions to make in this transaction but it is a critical one for sure. Be sure to have a Realtor® by your side like myself who deals with all these issues on a regular basis and is in tune with the market. Remember my goal is not to give you answers and expect you to go with it but instead to have the heart of a teacher and give you the knowledge so you can make an informed & educated decision.
Have questions about this or other topics, do not hesitate to contact me.