Excellent job! Your house is looking good, with the landscaping trimmed and weeded. But what next? Now it is time to price your home.
There are three ways to arrive at a price—a professional appraisal, using the home’s assessed value, and with the assistance of your real estate agent. A professional appraisal will require costs on your part. Using the home’s assessed value may not reflect the actual value in the current market. That leaves real estate appraisal, or property valuation. Better known as CMA, or comparative market analysis, this method involves your real estate agent pulling information on similar houses in your area with listings that are active, expired, or sold. Expired listings provide useful data as these homes were on the market but did not sell—either because they were priced too high, the condition of the home was undesirable, or the timing of the market was just not right.
Once you’ve arrived at a price, the next step is to make your home as appealing as possible for buyers. Staging is easier to accomplish in a vacant home, but either way, remember less is more. Keep the living room looking spacious with little on the tables, one, maybe two lamps, and a chair or two. Fresh flowers smell good and look nice. Keep kitchen counters clear with appliances shining and clean. In the bedrooms, remove all clutter and reduce the amount of furniture to make rooms appear larger.
Email me at evesellshomes@hotmail.com with your questions.