How do you set the right price?

The best marketing programs, without a competitive market position may attract prospects but will not make your home sell. Buyers buy the best homes they can get for their money and pay as little as they think the seller will accept. Sellers sell for the most they think a reasonable buyer will pay within a reasonable period of time.

The most effective tool REALTORS® use is the competitive market analysis
(CMA)⁽¹⁾. We compare your property to similar properties that sold in the last few weeks or months and properties that are currently on the market. We don't set the price, the market does. We can only provide an estimate range based on market activity.

Many sellers spend significant sums of money over time adding ammenities to make the home and property more attractive and comfortable. The biggest mistake is to think you can price your home by adding up all the money you have put into it. Buyers simply don't care what you might want or need. The market of buyers and properties for sale will set the price.

The next biggest mistake sellers make is to listen to opinions of others: family, freinds, neighbors, related service providers and just as important, electronic home value estimators found on the web. Home value estimation is as much an art as it is a science. It takes knowledgeable, experienced judgement by professionals. Also beware of the inexperienced or overly aggressive "salesperson" inflating the potential sales price only to get the listing.