For BuyersFor SellersMake More Money Selling Your HomeReal EstateReal Estate Marketing April 2, 2010

Make More Money Selling Your Home, Part 2, Set The Price At The Last Minute

Selling your home?  Wait until the last minute to set the price, and I mean the last minute.

Why would you do that?  Because real estate prices can be a moving target.  What worked a month or even a week or a day ago may not be the right price for your home.

When home sellers call me months before they plan to sell, I always give a price range rather than an exact price for their home.  I tell sellers they’ll need to wait to measure the real estate market right before the home goes on the market.

Again, why should you hold off until the last minute?

Because if your home is not the best value, you’ll help to sell the other homes. Or you could be leaving money on the table, even in this market.

So here’s what needs to happen. Before pricing a home for sale, I look at it when it’s completely ready for the market.  I look at the home as if I were a buyer.   I’ve also got to know the competition the very day your home goes on the market. The buyer will know the competition, and probably will have seen it, so I’ve got to do the same thing.  I’ll visit the other homes, looking at them, too,  as if I were a buyer, and then compare them to your home.

You might be able to ask a higher price if your home shows better than the competition.  Or maybe there are more homes competing with your home, so you need to be at a better price.  The price you ask for your home when you head out of the starting gate is critical, so get the price right and wait to set your asking price just before you go for sale.

What do you think?