Seller Topics

Comparables and Selling your Home - What you should know!

Your home is probably more than just a home to you. It’s the place where you have made memories with your family and experienced all the different elements of life in. From the mundane days of work and school to the grandiose holiday events, and new births to goodbyes. Perhaps you remodeled or added something that brought great value to your home for years, making your space something you are proud of, and love. When listing your cherished dwelling place for sale, your connection to the home and what you have poured into it is considered in pricing. You want to price your home to be competitive and receptive by buyers, while simultaneously reflecting what the value of the home is to you. Working with a Realtor is crucial to ensure the most thorough research done on the market, buyer and seller behavior, and the perfect price point, while conveying the pride you have in the place you live.

When pricing your home, your realtor is going to do their research on comparable properties in the neighborhood that have recently sold. The ideal time to look back at recently sold homes is going to be the ones that have sold 3-6 months before listing your home. If the neighborhood doesn’t have many, the search can expand to more than six months before. The same applies in a neighborhood with a higher turnover, then the search on comparables would be shortened to accommodate. You can include pending sales in your comparables, which can yield the most real-time results on where the market stands.

The ideal parameter for the most accurate results on comparables to your home is within one mile. Depending on the type of neighborhood, this will be adjusted to include the best results. Proximity to your home is important when pricing, as long as the home is similar in other aspects as well. Square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and upgrades or renovations will also need to be considered when looking into pricing competitively.

Chances are, if you’re selling your home, you might be a buyer as well! As you look into comparables and pricing your home, it could be helpful to put yourself in the position of the buyer and see your home as they would. Buyers are savvy investigators when making perhaps the largest purchase they will ever make. Their first exposure to your home is likely online with several other homes side by side. Buyers also track previously sold properties and will view your home through the lens of information they already have on your neighborhood. Understanding what brackets buyers search in, how they compare properties, and common buyer needs is something a realtor can educate sellers on based on current market behavior. Ensuring your home stands out will begin with pricing it just right, staging, quality photos, and a great realtor advocating on your behalf!

When moving your home in the market, you must evaluate your competition and adjust as the market does. You can always test the market, however, your first few days live are crucial in visibility and exposure. Your realtor can assist with a realistic price point, preparing the home to stand out in photos, and will get a pre-inspection to get ahead of any repairs before a buyer is involved, helping to competitively present the property. Your home is your pride and joy, and when selling it, you can convey it while staying realistic and ultimately getting it in and out of the market by pricing right. Happy selling!