Selling My House - What is the Best Pricing Strategy?

As local real estate professionals, this is a question we have to answer a lot.  Homeowners are constantly seeing and reading all kinds of advice on line.  Most home sellers understand that going too high over your expected sales price is not a good idea, we all get that.  But what’s too high?  And does it matter if it a buyer's market as opposed to a seller's market?

First thing is to always start from a realistic expectation of what your home is worth.  Do your homework on this one.  Never rely on online estimates of value.  Ask 2 or 3 real estate professional for their opinions.  These estimates from professionals should be not vary by more than 5% maximum.  If there is a bigger difference something is wrong.  Get additional opinions of value to determine what’s accurate.

Once you have a realistic expectation of what the home should sell for ask yourself this; "Is it a buyer's market or a seller's market?”  If it's a buyer's market you need to price more aggressively meaning right at or not more the 1 percent above the current value.  If it's a seller's market you can usually afford to go as much as 5% above the current market value as an asking price.

Another strategy is to purposely set the asking price under the expected sales price by about 1% to try and trigger a bidding war and ultimately get a higher price then expected.  This is working in some markets but not for all properties.  You need to confirm that the current demand for your property is much higher than the current inventory. 

So again you need to discuss this with a professional that is actively engaged in the market in your area.  They will be able to advise you if this may be the way to go!