Never confuse pricing strategies for selling your home with determining home value.

Unfortunately, neither “testing” the highest price you think you might get, nor listing it in the MLS with a couple of pictures and hoping for the best will rarely deliver the results you need.

Every home is a product you intend to sell in a specified time frame at an established amount. And that amount must also be at or above the amount you need to meet your financial objectives.

Not only do you need to know your homes value. But you also need to select your home pricing strategy.

• Strategy #1: Set your price based on an analysis of comparable sales
• Strategy #2: Set your price below the competition to try for a bidding war
• Strategy #3: Adjust your price to appear in online pricing filters
• Strategy #4: Price your home based on seasonal shifts
• Strategy #5: Price your home at the top and hope to get lucky

Selling your home is an emotional process. Pricing your home to sell in the time frame you need and at the amount you require demands setting aside emotion.

Get a comparative market analysis (CMA) that puts your home side-by-side against other home. That report will provide a pricing range based on recently sold properties like yours.

But competing in that range however may require getting your house “show ready”. Fresh paint, neutral colors, new flooring and de-cluttered like you would for visiting relatives, times 200.

Commanding the full potential asking price may demand home renovations you may not want to make.

House Pricing Strategy #1

Set your price based on an analysis of comparable sales

This is by far the most common method to set the listing price for your home.

Sadly, there is no “Kelley Blue Book” to check on prices for your house like you can for your car. Armed only with the comparative market analysis (CMA), you must decide where in the range you want to list.

Put emotion aside. For this decision you are more like a business owner selling a product than a homeowner. Visit or drive by other homes listed in your market. Because that is your competition. Concurrently interview real estate agents that have extensive experience in the local market and listen to their advice.

Make updates you’re willing to do to become competitive or lower your price if you’re not.

Consider whether your market is hot, cold, or neutral and price according to the market temperature. Compare the date you must sell your house by and the bottom-line number you must net in order to move to your next home.

List at the price that makes sense to achieve a sale within your time-frame at the highest possible price.

House Pricing Strategy #2

Set your price below the competition to try for a bidding war

Undercutting your price on purpose may sound like a foolish idea. But there is a time and place for this strategy.

Under the right circumstances and combined with an aggressive marketing plan the objective is to solicit multiple offers – effectively a bidding war. This can be an effective move in certain situations such as attracting attention if your home is in need of major upgrades or repairs you aren’t willing to make.

House Pricing Strategy #3

Adjust your price to appear in online pricing filters

Once you’ve decided on your home’s approximate value, make small adjustments to boost your listings visibility in online search websites.

Sites like Zillow.com and Realtor.com allow buyers to narrow their search with pricing filters. Your objective is to have a property that stands out in the list of results for a buyer searching by price.

For example, imagine you’ve determined to list your house at $350,000. Before setting that as your price, your agent will examine the search result groupings in your market.

Setting your home just above, or under, the filter threshold can be the difference of getting noticed or overlooked in a see of results.

House Pricing Strategy #4

Price your home based on seasonal shifts

Many factors influence buyer urgency. If the school district your home is in is a competitive advantage then you may experience a spike in buyer demand in the spring and summer months. Times when parents seek to get settled before the school year begins.

Depending on the employers in your market you may see another surge in the early winter. Look for a surge of buyers relocating for new jobs that need to find a new house fast.

Determining the best time to sell a home in Boca Raton Florida for more money changes from month to month and year to year. If you select this home pricing strategy, get with your real estate agent to access up-to-date transaction history. Data and experience are vital to sell your house fast at the highest price.

House Pricing Strategy #5

Price your home at the top and hope to get lucky

Price your home way above the competition and it’s unlikely you’ll book any showings. Buyers seldom live in a vacuum. They have a solid idea from online tools to let them know if it’s a good investment long before scheduling a showing.

Intentionally overpricing is never suggested, but if you insist on giving it a try, commit upfront to reduce the price if you don’t hear from any buyers within 10 days.

The Market Works When Setting a Selling Price for Your Home

Setting the perfect asking price for your home is part science with some psychology and art thrown in. Put aside emotions. Clearly define a successful outcome both in time to sell and funds you need to move to your next home.

Show your home in its best condition to support the price your house deserves – and it will hit the market with buzz in the community and generate offers from buyers.