Pricing real estate can be tricky to get right. Some might even say it’s an art. It goes without saying that it’s one of the most important steps to selling a house. Every market has its own peculiarities and nuances, which means that there’s no universal amount that properties should sell for.
However, you can use your knowledge of the local housing market to give yourself a better idea of what to price your property at. A good real estate agent will know the correct listing price for any given piece of property, but you can also do some sleuthing on your own to have a clearer picture of what this will likely be.
How much should you sell your home for? It’s one of the most common questions sellers have when listing their property, and it’s also one of the hardest to answer in a universal way. The truth is that every home is different. Everything from size and age, to how popular the style of a home is plays a factor.
For these reasons, there isn’t a set dollar figure for all properties. In order to help you determine what the right listing price would be for yours, we’ve compiled this guide on how to calculate your selling price.
Assessing the value of your home
The first thing you need to do is assess the value of your home. This will help you get an idea of what the property might be worth on the open market, so you can use that as a baseline when deciding on a listing price.
There are a few ways you can go about this. You could hire a professional appraiser to give you an official appraisal. This is the most accurate way to determine the value of your home, but it will also be the most expensive.
Alternatively, you could use one of the many online valuation tools to get a decent estimate. There are pros and cons to both approaches, but either one will give you a good ballpark figure. The best way to get an accurate appraisal is to use the comparable sales data for homes that have sold in your neighborhood recently. This will give you an idea of how much your home would be worth if you listed it for sale today.
You can get access to this data from your local real estate board, or from a number of websites that aggregate MLS data. Depending on the valuation method you choose, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
First off, make sure you’re using recent data. Using data that’s a few years old can skew the results since real estate markets can change rapidly over time. Second, don’t take a single appraisal or valuation as the final word. Multiple sources are always better than one.
Knowing the market
If you’re trying to figure out how much your home would sell for on the open market, you need to know the current market conditions in your neighborhood. This includes things like average sale times, the vacancy rates, and the competition that exists in the area.
If a lot of people are trying to sell their houses at the same time, it could cause a glut in the market and make it harder for you to sell. A good way to get a general idea of the market conditions in your neighborhood is by reading real estate data from local publications.
You can also talk to other real estate agents in your area to get their take on the current situation, or search online for real estate trends in your area. You can find useful information on topics like the time it takes to sell a house, or the average price of houses that have sold in the recent past.
Spotting properties that are currently on sale
Get a sense for what other houses in your neighborhood are currently going for by taking a look at the listings that are available on the market. This will tell you the price range that the majority of sellers are aiming for, which can help you decide how to price your home.
Be aware, though, that different agents might list their properties at different price points. Some real estate agents might list a property at a price that’s lower than it’s actually worth, in hopes of getting more offers. Others might list a property for a price that’s higher than it’s worth, in hopes of getting fewer but more serious offers. This is one of the many reasons it is so important that you choose the right agent when listing your home.
The best way to get a good idea of what properties are actually selling for in your neighborhood is to look at recently sold houses that are the same size and have the same features as yours. Make sure to look at listings that are within the same neighborhood or area as yours and that have similar characteristics.
Estimating renovation costs
Another factor that can affect your listing price is the renovation costs for your home. If you’re listing a property that needs some renovations, you’ll need to factor this into your pricing in order to make a profit.
The more work that needs to be done on your home, the more it is going to cost you. If your house is in need of a new roof, windows, or some other major repairs, it will cost more than if it just needs new paint. While your out of pocket expenses will be higher, renovating your home before listing it will most certainly add to its value and the listing price.
Summing up
With all these factors in mind, it’s easy to see how difficult it would be to determine the perfect price for your home. There are so many variables that can affect the outcome, from local market conditions to renovation costs.
It’s a tricky business, but with the tips and strategies in this article, you should be better equipped to price your property at the right level. After all, the best way to sell a house quickly and for maximum profit is to price it correctly the first time.