Why pricing your home right is crucial

Pricing your home right is an absolute must if you want to sell your home fast – or at all, for that matter. You can use all the best ways to add value to your home, but if it hasn't been priced correctly, your house sale is in jeopardy, experts say.

Even though much of the US has seen record-breaking home price increases since the start of the pandemic, there is a golden rule of selling a home all seasoned real estate agents agree on: don't overprice.

THE DANGERS OF OVERPRICING

The dangers of overvaluing a home have been well documented, and all the real estate experts we spoke to agreed that it's the one big no-no all sellers should avoid.

Robin Walpert, from the Santa Monica-Venice Brokerage of Sotheby’s International Realty(opens in new tab), says: 'Pricing too high initially can potentially lead to a stale listing that doesn't sell, and ultimately missing a hot market window.'

Alexis Van Der Mije McAndrew of Daniel Gale puts it even more strongly: 'If your price your home too high, your home will sit unsold for months, developing the reputation of a problem property that must have something wrong with it.'

PRICING YOUR HOME RIGHT STILL GIVES YOU A RANGE TO PLAY WITH

My best advice at the moment is to list middle to high what the comparable show as the range and then work it!'

Scott Bernard of LIV Sotheby’s International Realty cautions: 'Today's market requires absolute spot-on pricing, or it will just sit on the market and eventually sell for well below what it should have been listed. I have seen examples this month of properties in the $500k – $700k range being overprice only by $20k – 30k and they do not fly off of the market like a well-priced listing does. Buyers are very educated in today's wealth of data.'

If you have the suspicion that you're aiming too high, it's best to veer on the side of caution and underprice or price right in the middle of your range. You'll get a faster sale and, ultimately, the best possible sale price because your home will be perceived as desirable by buyers who will offer more than the asking price. Remember that momentum is key with home sales: the quicker the sale, the more the house will sell for; the more it sits on the market, the lower its final selling price will be.