Help Me Sell My House – 6 Basic Steps to Pricing Your Home to Sell in Today’s Market

The first thing any prospective buyer will want to know is the asking price of your home. This is where you need to be careful, go to high and you scare off any buyers, go too low and you are just letting money slip through your hands.

So for those of you asking – “Help Me Sell My House” – here is a guide to pricing your home to sell:-

1) Research the competition – Either drive around your local area or check your newspaper listings or visit real estate websites. Find properties that are approximately the same size as yours, i.e. same number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. If you find other similar properties in your area, this can help you price your home just as competitively.

2) Find and visit Open Houses in your area – Just visit every open house you can. Find out as much information as possible. Any renovations or upgrades to things like bathrooms or kitchens? Compare the price and actual property to your own home.

3) Visit your local town hall or county clerk’s office – ask for information on recently sold properties. This is public information and can really help you when pricing your home to sell. This is a great opportunity to educate yourself on homes that have been sold recently in the local market.

4) Get an Automated Valuation Model (AVM) – This is similar type of valuation to a Comparative Market Analysis offered by a real estate agent. An AVM will take into consideration recently sold properties in your local area and give you a suggested range within which to price your home.

5) Don’t pay attention to old valuations – Even if you had your property valued a year ago, the recent economic climate has had a huge affect on house pricing. On average most home prices have dropped up to 20{7fcbeda410c9f02a886f83a59a5af911565ec7141a170d397df667872a958d9e} between May 2007 and May 2009.

6) You don’t have to use an agent or a realtor – Many people opt for the “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO) route nowadays. There is enough information readily available to help you sell your house yourself. Did you know that a real estate agent’s fees are usually between 5{7fcbeda410c9f02a886f83a59a5af911565ec7141a170d397df667872a958d9e} – 7{7fcbeda410c9f02a886f83a59a5af911565ec7141a170d397df667872a958d9e} of the sale price. Let’s say your property is worth $350,000 and your agent charges a 7{7fcbeda410c9f02a886f83a59a5af911565ec7141a170d397df667872a958d9e} commission. Your agent will pocket a cool $24,500, while you get $325,500! If you wish to go the FSBO route, you could actually knock a sizable sum off the asking price and still make more profit than if you used an agent!

So it’s not a case of “Help Me Sell My House”, but Help Yourself sell your home!