5 Criteria for Pricing A Home

In my last post, I included a link to a National Realtor Association tool that shows listings are up this year! Last year things seemed to be leveling out. This year it appears consumer confidence is improving as more houses went on the market in January than at the comparative time last year. This is good news for Buyers as it means more homes are available to purchase. It is also good news for Sellers as more competition will help them sell their homes at the best price.

If you are thinking of selling this year, you are probably wondering what is a good price to sell your home? When you put your home up for sale, one of the best ways to determine the asking price is to look at comparable sales. There’s rarely a perfect apples-to-apples comparison, so a pricing decision often relies on comparisons to several recent sales in the area. Here are five criteria to look for in a sales comparison.

1. Location: Homes in the same neighborhood typically follow the same market trends. Comparing your home to another in the same neighborhood is a good start, but comparing it to homes on the same street or block is even better.
2. Date of sale: It varies by location, but housing markets can see a ton of fluctuation in a short time period. It‘s best to use the most recent sales data available.
3. Home build: Look for homes with similar architectural styles, numbers of bathrooms and bedrooms, square footage, and other basics.
4. Features and upgrades: Remodeled bathrooms and kitchens can raise a home’s price, and so can less flashy upgrades like a new roof or HVAC system. Be sure to look for similar bells and whistles.
5. Sale types: Homes that are sold as short sales or foreclosures are often in distress or sold at a lower price than they’d receive from a more typical sale. These homes are not as useful for comparisons.

All this information can be overwhelming and may be difficult to interpret. If this is the case for you, you might consider asking a Realtor to prepare a Comparative Market Analysis or CMA for you. It's usually free of charge. The Realtor will not only use the above criteria but can provide you with information that is specific to your neighborhood and help you to understand what the comparable information means for the selling of your home.  If you’d like to determine the best price for your home, I can work up a CMA just for you. Give me a call at 303-888-1587 or email me at cheryl@lawsonpropertysolutions.com