How To Get The Best Possible Price for your House

• To you, your home is filled with memories and emotional attachments. But to anybody else, it's just another piece of merchandise up for sale. That's why the most important aspect in selling a house is to set the "right" price.

• Set the price too HIGH and you may never find a buyer. Set the price too LOW and you'll be cheating yourself.

• Keep in mind that the value of your home ... and the willingness of a buyer to pay that price ... isn't based on the cost of construction or the amount you paid for it. Instead, it's determined by the market conditions in your neighborhood at the time you want to sell.

How do most owners price their home?

Most owners use neighborhood open houses or other brokers' listings to determine their price. But this can be disastrous because these properties have not SOLD!

What is market value?

Market value is defined by the courts as the highest price which a property will bring if offered for sale on the open market, allowing a reasonable time to find a buyer who buys with full knowledge of all the uses of the property. It is frequently referred to as the price at which a willing seller would sell and a willing buyer would buy, neither being under abnormal pressure.

How is market value determined?

To arrive at a realistic asking price for your home, most real estate agents will prepare a Comparative Market Analysis Report for your home. It takes into consideration current market conditions, neighborhood influences and specific selling factors of your home to determine a suggested Fair Market Value.

The method used for residential real estate is called MARKET APPROACH. It is based on the premise that a prudent person will pay no more for a property than it would cost to purchase a comparable substitute. The use of this approach involves the comparison of your property with others of similar design and use which have recently sold or are currently for sale.

DANGERS OF OVERPRICING YOUR HOME

• It will take longer to sell ... Buyers aware of this long period of exposure are hesitant to buy, fearful that there is something wrong with the home.

• You will have fewer showings ... Buyers buy by comparison, so homes not comparing favorably with those the buyers have inspected do NOT sell.

• You will receive lower offers ... A buyer is more likely to make a full price offer on a home that is priced right before making a low offer on a home that is priced TOO high.

• Your property will help sell other properties ... Overpricing tends to force buyers who could buy in your area to look elsewhere, or to buy something lower priced before those lower-priced homes are bought by someone else.