Price it Right

Your home should sell fast if the price is right and a professional market analysis will quickly establish what that price should be.

Full time Realtors® know what homes comparable to yours are selling for, and you should be realistic in setting a price that is competitive with other properties currently listed.

Many factors influence your home's true market value: size, condition, and yard area, interior finish and so on. Special features such as a finished basement, a hobby room or custom-made cupboards add value.

Your Realtor® knows how these factors affect asking price and is able to compare your home fairly against similar homes that have sold recently. A price within 5% of market value should garner a reasonably quick offer and hopefully the successful completion of the sale.

Home Market Value Is The Fair Market Value

While most of us tout location, location, location it is important to understand how price and location fit together. When it comes to selling, the importance of pricing a home fair is superior to everything else. A simple illustration is to picture a home for sale in the best location you can imagine. Then put a price on it that is not fair market value by home market value comparison. The result will be that many may admire the home but no offers will come since the price is attracting the wrong crowd. To further illustrate, take a less popular location and fair market price it, the buyers will be lined up with offers. Location factors in to correct pricing the way other important features do when assessing the likely market value and sale price of a home. Using home market value pricing then, plays the leading role in sales followed by strategic marketing and negotiating in order to obtain optimum value.

Location is paramount on the other hand when assessing where the highest rate of appreciation might be expected over a period of time. Locations that are superior for neighbourhood, proximity to schools and shopping, receive a steady demand on the part of buyers and usually produce a higher increase in market value and of course a quicker sale when that time comes.

When buying, there is a tradeoff for location. A home for sale on a main street for example will usually have more features for the price than the same home on the nearby crescent. So a main street home may be just what a consumer prefers knowing that they are getting more of the features they want for their money. On the other hand, a buyer may prefer to take the "crescent" home with fewer features for the money preferring the added safety that accrues to that location, where small children may be a concern.

It is by and large a matter of choice and most folks whether buying or selling want to come away from the process feeling they were well informed and pay or receive fair market value.