Home Sellers Guide

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How do I know how much to ask?

Today's buyers are savvy and know what to expect in their price range, and if yours is set too high, they'll just move on to something else.

So what do you do? To do the job right, you'll need to locate comparables. "Comps" are homes that have recently sold that "compare" to your home in features such as style, location, condition, rooms, and other amenities. You'll also need available "comps." These are houses that are currently on the market that will be competing with your house for buyers looking now.

Is your home a "development house," one where there are others exactly like it?

Or is your home more unique? If yours is "spot built," custom, historical, or distinctly different in some way, locating comparables will be a much more difficult task.

To obtain comparable sales, you'll need to really do your homework. First, start by keeping an eye open in your neighborhood. Ask friends and neighbors if they know of any recent sales. Get the addresses, and then follow up to find out the particulars. Your local municipal offices will have information about the sales price if you come in with the full address. You'll also need to follow your local newspapers' real estate sections. Often they print recent sales in your area that are reported by the Multiple Listing Service. It will take some time, but you will need to allow at least a few weeks to obtain as much information about recent sales as possible if you want to properly establish an asking price.

When pricing, you may be surprised to know that some of the amenities you have added, and consider great assets, may actually work against you. For instance, the in-ground swimming pool that cost thousands of dollars to install, may actually cost you thousands more at the time of sale. Often buyers are intimidated by the cost of maintaining and insuring a swimming pool, and are frightened of the safety issues, especially if they have small children.

The result; many pools are actually filled in. And, many buyers discount the price of the house, or even disregard the house itself, based on the presence of a pool. Over-improvements can cost too. Because you may have spent thousands on items like marble, slate, ceramic tile, or other opulent affects, does not insure that the buyer will find them worthy of paying more. A home is only worth what the market will bear. Professionals know that the value is always based on what other buyers have recently paid for other homes in the area, that are comparable. This is the method used by appraisers when performing an appraisal for mortgage purposes.

If you decide to engage the services of a professional Realtor®, the task of pricing will be skillfully handled for you. Realtors® have access to a great deal of information on recent sales and trends because selling homes is their profession. Many have computerized MLS access and can quickly research recent sales. In addition, within minutes, a Realtor® can search their current MLS inventory and give detailed descriptions about the homes you will be competing with. This information is used to generate a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). A CMA is very helpful in illustrating where your home fits in the marketplace as well as what you might sell for if represented by a real estate professional. The suggested asking price on your CMA takes into account the results of professional marketing and sales expertise. Your private results can be drastically different.

Reprinted from "How to Sell it Fast & Get the Right Price", by Laurie J. Bloom
(c) 1998, Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
For your free copy, contact your local MLS office.