Pricing Your Home for Sale
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wilthn@excite.com
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welcome to:
Sell It By Owner Online
Central Pennsylvania, Altoona Pa
home for sale website
Of all the steps in preparing your home for sale, setting the
price tag is the most important.  Overpricing is the number
one reason for a home not to sell.

We all want to get the most money we can out of our home for sale.  Many of
us, even if we were listing with a real estate agent would select the real
estate agent that told us they could sell the home for the most money.  

Keep in mind real estate agents want you to pick them over the other
hundreds of agents in your area.  Recommending a high sales price, is a
real estate agent sales tactic to entice you into signing a 6 month contract
with them. During that time, they will ask you to reduce your price.  The
problem with this situation is, when a home sits on the market too long, it
becomes "stale".  People will not want to look at it, just because they have
seen it advertised for months and seen it reduced again and again.  The
assumption will be that there is something wrong with your home.  

Unfortunately, there is no exact science when it comes to pricing.  It is not
like when adding 2 + 2, you always get 4.  It is calculated guess work, even
two appraisers can come up with different numbers though they may be
close.  There are many factors to consider.  

You must consider the time frame which you have to sell your home, the
selling price of other homes around your home, how much money you need
to net from your home sale not the amount you would like to net.  If you get
too greedy, it will cost you.  DON'T BLOW IT!
Time Frame - If you need to sell your home quickly, no matter what
the reason, price your home accordingly.  You may need to price your
home below others in your immediate neighborhood.  By selling by
owner, you are no longer paying that EXCESSIVE REAL ESTATE
AGENT COMMISSION.  If you have a $200,000 home, listing with a
real estate agent in Central Pennsylvania, Altoona area, will cost you
6%.  That is $12,000 of your $200,000 sales price.  That would put
your net at $188,000.  You could lower your sales price to $195,000
to price your home more competitively and still net $8000 more than
you would by paying a real estate agent commission.  

Market Comparison - Compare your home to similar homes within a
1/2 mile radius of your home.  If there is a neighbor hood division, for
example, you live in the Fairview section of Altoona, do not compare
your home with a home a 1/2 mile away in the Beverly Hills area of
Altoona.  You must be comparing apples to apples.  You want the
comparable homes to have the same number of bedrooms and
baths, similar square footage (within 10% up or down), similar age,
and similar amenities.  
  1. Tour local Open Houses to get an accurate idea of whether a home
    is comparable or not.  
  2. Research local real estate agent listings and look at how many days
    a home has been on the market.  
  3. Most real estate agents will offer a Certified Market Analysis for free.  
    Of course, they will try to get you to sign a contract with them.  Listen
    to what they have to say.  Just be careful, they are salesmen and will
    make a push to get your business by saying anything especially if
    you disclose that you are considering listing by owner.
  4. HIRE AN APPRAISER.  This is the surest way to get you close to an
    appropriate asking price.  It is money well spent and will save you the
    research time and guess work.  An appraiser will not only provide you
    with a correct price range, but will also show your buyers that you are
    in the correct price range.

Net Price - Keep your net price in mind.  What is the balance on your
home including any second mortgages or home equity loans?  Keep
this number in mind, as well as the cost of upgrades you have done,
and the closing costs you may incur.  This should be what you
approximately hope to net plus a little more depending on how long
you have already paid on your mortgage.  Just because you want
$10,000 more to cover the cost on your new home, doesn't mean you
can get that $10,000 from the sale of your current home.  Buyers are
aware that you are not paying a real estate commission and will be
expecting to get a better deal.  It is common knowledge that homes
listed with a real estate agent have a mark up to hopefully recover
those excessive real estate agent commissions.  NEVER DIVULGE
YOUR LOWEST PRICE TO ANYONE!
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