What price should I ask for my house?

More often than not, that’s the first question that a home seller asks themselves when deciding to sell.

Having the right asking price is indeed, one of the most important factors in a successful home sale. One of the challenges is to make sure that the listed price you choose has some valid business-logic behind it. It is important, yet difficult, that you get past the emotional decisions. What you “want” or “need” often has very little relationship to what you can get.

Simply put, the value of your house is what educated buyers are willing to pay. This is true whether we are in an appreciating (seller’s) market or a depreciating (buyer’s) market.

Educated buyers are those that are ready to buy – today. They’ve been looking for a while and have seen what’s out there. They know what comparable homes are going for. They are just waiting for the right house to come on the market – at the right price.

While there’s no exact science to say exactly what your home will sell for, there are ways to make some solid estimates. The predicted sale price will likely be partially based on recent sales of similar properties in your area. The challenge becomes greater in a rapidly shifting market. Unless the recent sales are very recent, you could be misled by the data. Once you have an idea of a range of probable selling price, you can make a decision on what to put as the “list” price. Remember: it is the listed price that will get educated buyers to take a look at your home.

The listed price should be based on your objective.

If your motivation is to sell quickly then the answer is simple: Find out the asking price of comparable homes that are still on the market and list yours for less. The educated buyers in the marketplace will recognize your house as a value and be interested enough to come view it right away.

If one educated buyer takes an interest in your home, it is likely that others will too. The ideal situation is to create an auction-like environment where multiple prospects are interested in your home. If this happens you could find yourself choosing between buyers and offers. When you have multiple buyers bidding on your home, you can rest assured that when they stop bidding, the highest price being offered is the right value for your house.