When selling your house, knowing the pricing is correct is important. Especially in a disrupted market. Like now, there is inventory shortage driving prices upward. But if you’re exuberantly overpriced, you may not get any offers. If you are underpriced, you could have many offers to sift through, some of those offers not really competitive.

Here’s some pointers on how to price your house accurately. So whether you’re just starting the process of selling your house or you’ve already put it on the market, some ideas to consider:

Why is it important to price your home correctly? 

Correct pricing is an indicator of serious intent by the Seller to sell, and an actionable reference point for Buyers to logically consider their offer. Correct pricing helps bring about “a meeting of the minds”, the first step in the Contract to Close process.

Of course you want to get the best possible price for property. This is substantially, but not entirely just about dollars. You want the best likelihood of a timely closing, and a Buyer who wants to help you sell. Today’s markets move so quickly, that you don’t want to forego suitors but for the single variable of a “highest dollar number”. Consider the “highest total value” of the offer. That conclusion may well need inputs from your project team members  (concerned personal sphere and stake holders, real estate, legal, tax etc).

Tips for how to price your house accurately?

Gain basic “Do it Yourself” knowledge: Discover recent Sales in your neighborhood? Many consumer facing data outlets report that data.

Consult a knowledgeable and rigorous thinking real estate professional as many adjusting factors may need to be added to make logical the subjective impressions or emotional intelligence you apply to your “sense of value”. These “soft” data need to align with market data, especially when there is a low volume of “comparable” closed and currently listed properties.

What are the consequences of pricing your house incorrectly?

If you price your house too low, you may end up selling it for less than it’s worth. On the other hand, if you price your house too high, it may sit on the market for a long time without any buyers. Ultimately, you want to find a happy medium that will attract buyers and get you the best possible outcome, as you define “outcome”.

How can you tell if your house is overpriced or underpriced?

This is a question that many homeowners ask themselves when they are getting ready to sell.

The most important thing to keep in mind when pricing your home is that you need to be realistic. You can’t just pick a number out of thin air and expect buyers to be willing to pay it.

To get an idea of what your home is worth, you can start by looking at comparable homes in your area that have recently sold. This will give you a good starting point for setting your price.

Being Open to Objective Reality

Objectively, take into account the condition of your home. It’s easy to identify those special features you’ve enjoyed. But if you’ve had the property for a while, those features may have aged or depreciated regardless of whether repairs or replacements are needed.

Needing repairs or updates will lower value, of course relative to supply:demand inventory mismatches. If your home is in great condition or has useful and unique features, value may be disproportionately increased during market disruptions.

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