If you’re selling a home this season, it’s important to pick a good initial asking price. While asking too much for your real estate investment could result in a house that sits on the market for weeks, you don’t want to just “give it away” either. Here are three things to keep in mind when trying to set your asking price:
1) What’s the asking price for your neighborhood? Examining the asking price of other houses for sale in your neighborhood is a great way to determine how much your real estate investment is worth. Although you’ll have to take differences in things like square footage and amenities into account, checking out nearby listings will give you and approximate range in which to set your asking price. After all, location is everything in real estate.
2) How do the comps look? “Comps” refer to the asking prices of houses on the market that are similar in size, age and quality to your own. Although these properties might not be close by, you should follow their prices in the local newspaper anyways. If your home is nearly identical to another house in the paper, you can be sure that your sale prices will be fairly close.
3) What do the real estate agents say? When you first get in touch with a real estate agent, they’ll likely offer to appraise your competitive market value for free, with the hope that you’ll list your property through them. Take advantage of this free service and get the expert opinion of several local agents in your area. Averaging three or more of their estimates should give you a good idea of what your real estate investment is worth.
Selling a home doesn’t have to be stressful, especially when it comes to determining your home’s worth. As long as you do your research and stay up to date with local sale prices, it will be easy to pick the perfect asking price for your real estate investment.
