Stokes Valley News Online Real Estate Report
May 2002

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Setting the Right Asking Price

Selling your home can be a stressful and sometimes time-consuming endeavour. First you may decide to carry out some home improvements to boost the value of your home and make it more attractive to potential buyers. Areas that are important to buyers in the market today are kitchens and bathrooms, as these have the biggest refurbishment cost in any upgrade.

Then you need to find a Real Estate agent to 'list' your home and put it officially on the market. Next is the task of deciding what price you should sell your home for. Peter Campbell of LJ Hooker Stokes Valley says setting an asking price is one of the most crucial decisions you need to make when selling your home.

"Obviously you want to get top dollar, however unrealistic price expectations can be detrimental to the sale of the property, as many potential buyers know current market values and if they think your home is over-priced they may not even bother to inspect it."

Tips on setting an asking price when selling your home:

• Don't set your asking price too high. This is a common mistake made by home sellers, usually against the advice of their Real Estate agents. It can be tempting to try to make more money on your home, but keep in mind that there is normally a good deal of competition out there and buyers will steer away from houses that are priced to high when there are more moderately priced houses available in the same area.
• Get a comparative market analysis done. Your Real Estate Agent should be able to provide you with this report, which compares your home with similar ones in the area, the prices they were recently sold for and the length of time they were on the market.
• Set your asking price no more than 5% higher than what you would expect to receive. This leaves you with some negotiating room.
• Remember, setting your asking price too high will probably result in much wasted time as many buyers may ignore your home, or wait for the price to drop. The longer your house is on the market, the more buyer interest will diminish and the less you will get for it in the in the long run.