Seller Tip: Don’t set home price too high

The real estate market is favoring buyers instead of sellers, with rising interest rates and increasing inventories. That makes it more important than ever to price your home correctly.

How to price your home in a buyer’s market:

1. Realize that the market has changed: your property may take longer to sell… at a lower price than it would have six months or a year ago.

2. Use recent actual sales figures to determine market value: your real estate agent can provide you with comparable sales of similar properties… location, size, condition, furnishings, etc. Data should be less than 6 months old.

3. Know your competition: compare listings of similar properties. Realize, however, that many properties are currently overpriced because sellers have not come to terms with market changes.

4. Keep your emotions in check: it’s only human nature to think that your home is worth more than it is. Rely on your real estate agent for objectivity.

5. Prepare your property for sale: paint, clean carpets, make repairs, remove clutter and personal items, and store extra furniture. Property in move-in condition will bring the best price.

6. Price your property to sell now: your property will attract the most buyers when it first goes on the market. A common mistake is to set the price too high initially to leave room for negotiation. Buyers look at price first and ignore overpriced properties.

Source: Theresa Agovino, Associated Press

For a free Comparative Market Report on your property, contact Barbara Chartier at 843-902-0204.