If I want to sell my home, shall I set it above market, at market or below market?

Hi Tristan,
As a general rule of thumb here are the situations in which you should set the price above, at and below market value.
1) Above market value
Your house needs to have uniqueness: unique features, unique location, i.e. something that makes people think: ‘this house is really nicer than anything we have visited in the neighborhood’.
The mistake many people make is that they price their house above market value when the house is not nicer than its competition and what happens is that the similar house priced lower will sell first and these homeowners will eventually need to reduce their asking price.
2) At market value
Your house is ‘normal for the neighborhood’ not better / not worse than any other and you are not in any specific rush to sell the house.
3) Below market value
There are basically two reasons to price below market value: either your house has serious deficiencies or is below average for the neighborhood or you simply have a personal situation (job relocation, divorce, etc.) which requires you to sell fast.
Give us a call to discuss your particular situation more privately.
Best,
francois@cozy-homes.com

Hi Tristan,

This is a GREAT question! This is completely dependent on a lot of factors - what part of town, what neighborhood, how many homes are currently active on the market (what are their days on market), how many homes are under contract (how do these compare to the homes that are still active), what have similar homes in the neighborhood/section sold for over the last 3-6 months, how does your home compare to the active competition, those under contract and those that have sold (is your home updated cosmetically as well as updates to mechanicals), what price point is your neighborhood, what is the Buyer activity in the price bracket your house falls in (and how does this related to the number going under contract), etc. I could go on... :)

It truly does depend on your specific property and how it relates all around to the competition. Personally, I am extremely obsessive when it comes to pricing my listings, analyzing every aspect of the market in order to advise on the "sweet spot" of pricing in order for my Sellers to obtain the most money in the least amount of time (limiting holding costs and the stresses of showing the property while you are still occupying it). Depending on the property, this "sweet spot" may be at market, slightly above market, or slightly below market. It all depends on the property and the competition.

I'm happy to discuss further if you would like to! My experience and expertise is real estate valuation (my husband and I have owned a residential appraisal business serving the Greater Houston area for 10+ years in addition to my real estate sales).

Darby Grimmett / KW / darby@darbygrimmett.com / 936-827-9217