PRICING YOUR PROPERTY 
Determining price is one of the most critical steps in preparing your home for sale. A well priced home often sells quickly once it is put on the market.
When your home is priced right from the outset, you maximize your opportunity of reaching the most qualified buyers and obtaining top dollar.
Pricing your home correctly:
- Can save you thousands of dollars on your family’s largest investment
- Can give you Multiple offers, thus obtain full price or increase offer with most desirable terms to you
- Reduces risk because overpriced homes may eliminate some buyers if it is out of their price range
- Ensures that other agents will show the home
- Is good when it comes time to appraise. Your home must appraise at the selling price for the buyer to get financing
When we see your home and prepare a more complete and thorough market evaluation, we will use our professional market knowledge of recent home sales and your neighborhood to help you price your home correctly.
We'll give you our best opinion on the what your property can sell for and how to obtain it.
How to Set a List Price for Your Home
Setting the list price for your home involves evaluating various market conditions and financial factors. During this phase of the home selling process, your REALTOR® will help you set your list price based on:
- pricing considerations
- comparable sales
- market conditions
- offering incentives
- estimated net proceeds
Pricing Considerations – Find a Balance Between Too High and Too Low
When setting a list price for your home, you should be aware of a buyer’s frame of mind. Consider the following pricing factors:
If you set the price too high, your house won’t be picked for viewing, even though it may be much nicer than other homes on the street. You may have told your REALTOR® to "Bring me any offer. Frankly, I’d take less." But compared to other houses for sale, your home simply looks too expensive to be considered.
If you price too low, you'll short-change yourself. Your house will sell promptly, yes, but you may make less on the sale than if you had set a higher price and waited for a buyer who was willing to pay it.
TIP: Never say "asking" price, which implies you don't expect to get it.
Price Against Comparable Sales in Your Neighborhood
No matter how attractive and polished your house, buyers will be comparing its price with everything else on the market.
Your best guide is a record of what the buying public has been willing to pay in the past few months for property in your neighborhood. The decision about how much to ask, though, is always yours.
Competitive Market Analysis (CMA): To help in estimating a possible sales price for your house, the analysis will also include data on nearby houses that sold and failed to sell in the past few months, along with their list prices.
A CMA differs from a formal appraisal in several ways. One major difference is that an appraisal will be based only on past sales. Also, an appraisal is done for a fee while the CMA is provided by your us as a REALTOR® and may include properties currently listed for sale and those currently pending sale. For the average home sale, a CMA probably gives enough information to help you set a proper price.
Formal Written Appraisal: A formal written appraisal (which may cost a few hundred dollars) can be useful if you have unique property, if there hasn't been much activity in your area recently, if co-owners disagree about price or if there is any other circumstance that makes it difficult to put a value on your home.
TIP: If you do order a market value appraisal, make it clear you don't need an elaborate, or full narrative report, i.e., the kind that's complete with photos of the house and neighborhood. Floor plans and a site map is sufficient in most cases.
Market Conditions – Is it a Buyer’s Market or a Seller’s Market?
A CMA often includes a Days on the Market (DOM) value for each comparable house sold. When real estate is booming and prices are rising, houses may sell in a few days. Conversely, when the market slows down, average DOM can run into many months.
We can tell you whether your area is currently in a buyer's market or a seller's market. In a seller's market, you can price a bit beyond what you really expect, just to see what the reaction will be. In a buyer's market, if you really need to sell promptly, offer an attractive bargain price.
Estimating Net Proceeds 
Once we give you an estimate of market value, you can have a rough idea of how much cash you might walk away with when the sale is completed. This can be particularly useful when you start looking for another home to buy.
To estimate your net proceeds, from the estimated sales amount, subtract the applicable costs in the three sections outlined below: seller’s costs, buyer’s/seller’s costs and closing costs.