Mark Lesses Explains Pricing Your Home So It Will Sell

WINCHESTER, Mass. - Aug. 25, 2014 - PRLog -- If you’re thinking of selling your house in the near future, take a step back, think carefully, and ask yourself how much you think it’s worth. Do you have a number? Remember that number, because your thoughts on your home’s worth may be surprisingly subjective. After all, it’s the place where you’ve lived up until now, perhaps the place you’ve raised your family, added family members, celebrated holidays, and made important memories. Your home is probably worth a lot to you – perhaps much more than its actual financial value

If you’re planning on listing your home, what you really need is an objective assessment of your home’s value. If you price it too high, it might languish on the market without any interested buyers. However, if you price it correctly for the current market conditions, location, and in comparison to similar properties, you’ll be putting yourself in better shape to make a quick sale.

The first person you need to contact when you decide to sell is a reputable real estate agent. Maybe you have someone in mind with whom you’ve worked in the past, or maybe you have a reference from a trusted friend or family member. It’s important to find someone who understands you and your needs as well as the market in which you’re selling.

Your agent will not only have experience in helping clients price their homes for sale, but he or she will also have access to tools that can assist in the process. Ask you agent for a list of comparative recent sales (or “comps”) to get an idea of what you can ask for when you list. Comps will take into account your home’s location, condition, square footage, the number of rooms, and other amenities. If the market is favorable, you may be able to price your home at the upper end of this range, while in a sluggish market, you might want to price your home cautiously.

Your agent will also be able to tell you which of those beloved updates and renovations you’ve made to your home will actually translate into a higher asking price. If you’ve updated kitchens or bathrooms or added living space in the attic or basement, those modifications might have added some value to your home. But not all remodeling is universally desirable. Some people love swimming pools and some people see them as a liability; you probably also won’t see a return on your investment for high-end appliances and luxury accessories – and beware modifications that are over-the-top for your neighborhood. Your agent can provide an objective viewpoint about whether the changes you’ve made will actually allow you to list your house at a higher price.

If you are willing to make some small- or large-scale repairs (everything from fresh paint to a new roof), replacing aging fixtures and systems may also help justify a solid asking price. But if your home is in poor condition, your agent will be honest about its shortcomings as well.

Once you’ve spoken to your agent and educated yourself about the market and local comps, updates you’ve made and repairs you need to make, you’ll arrive at a “just right” price for your home. Remember that initial number you came up with – the subjective estimate of your home’s value? It may differ from the asking price you’ve settled on with your agent’s help, but you can be sure now that your home more apt to be priced to sell.

It’s not always easy to stay objective where your home is concerned, but if you approach your home sale as the financial transaction that it is at heart, you’ll be in better shape to get the most out of the deal – and lose the least amount of sleep in the process. By partnering with a savvy agent, you’ll be on your way to selling your current home and moving on to the next phase of your life.