1. Know the market:
First go through the Internet or the local newspaper and find out how much houses are selling for in your area.
Next phone a realtor and make a deal so she gives you the actual selling price of houses in your area. The actual selling price is a better indicator of what your house is worth rather than the price of unsold houses. If you intend on selling your house on your own, let the realtor know up front. If you do a good job on the marketing, you will get lots of people coming through your house for viewings. Let the realtor know that you will refer those people to her in exchange for the help.
Knowing what price houses are listed for vs. what they are actually selling for, will help you formulate a good negotiation strategy.
Look at the actual listed and selling prices for the past six months within a mile of your house. Make adjustments based on their features to come up with a price for your own house. Your realtor can help with this.
2. Don't over-price!
People often feel their house should be worth more because they have fixed things up, customized certain features or greatly improved the appearance. Unfortunately, your competition has also done similar things. For example, you may have done a fantastic job on the porch in the back yard, but a buyer may consider one porch the same as another. She may not want to pay extra money for yours, even though you have done a better job.
If your price is too high compared to SIMILAR houses, your house will just sit there and not sell.
You will get more anxious as the weeks roll by. In the end you may take a lower price than you need to, just because you are tired of the whole thing.
Buyers often ask how long your house has been on the market. If it has been too long, they will assume there is something wrong with the house. You will start getting offers lower than market value. People will think that you would be desperate to sell because it has been so long.
If a house sits on the market too long, it gets tainted with seeming to be of poor quality.
3. Don't under-price your house.
Most people don't understand the true value of the improvements they have done over the years. You may be sitting on a goldmine. Simple fix ups like re- painting or cleaning up a spare room may increase the value more than you think.
4. Don't go by the City tax assessment notice. In a market where prices are generally increasing, there can be a substantial difference between what the City thinks your house is worth and its real value.
The best thing to do is to hire an appraiser to do a formal appraisal. If the buyer tries to get the price down you can show him the appraisal as an objective analysis of how much your house should sell for. Spending a couple hundred dollars on an appraisal may save you thousands in return.
5. Don't take the realtor's evaluation or the appraiser's analysis the TRUTH. These are just guidelines. A good marketing plan can net you several thousands of dollars more than people may think.
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