Finding the Value of Your House

 

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And Selling it for Top Dollar

When you make a decision to sell your house the first thing you'll likely do is set a price. We all want as much as we can get when selling our house, or anything for that matter. However, research has shown that most sellers feel their house is worth much more than it actually is, and the inflated price usually prevents the house from selling at Top Dollar.

​Obviously this is the opposite result that we want, the goal is to get Top Dollar and we have to do everything we can to accomplish this, right? Let me explain what happens when you start too high on the asking price, how to get Top Dollar and how to find the True Market Value so you know you're Priced Right.

When a house is first listed for sale, the first 10 days are the best in terms of activity and buyer audience, after that each day will see a decrease in views. Because of this it is critical to have your house properly priced, otherwise your buyer will just dismiss the sale and move onto the next one. 

Many sellers believe in starting high and slowly lowering the price until the house gets sold, this strategy is not only wrong it's also likely costing you money. The longer a house sits on the market the more "shelf worn" it becomes and the perceived value is affected. Think about the Brand New clothes you see on the clearance rack, most are deeply discounted yet nothing is wrong with them ... other than being on the shelf too long. 

I use the term Perceived Value because what a buyer is willing to pay for something no one seems to want is much different than an item that everyone seems to want. And the longer a house sits on the market, the more it appears no one likes it, even as the price is being dropped multiple times. What starts going through potential buyers minds is that there must be something wrong with the house, that in turn brings in a Perceived Value that is much lower than actual market value. 

​Market Value by definition means: The price something would sell for between a willing seller and a willing and able buyer, in a normal market, with proper exposure and no creative financing or sales incentives. I have paraphrased it, it's much more wordy than this, however I'm sure you understand Market Value now.

​Point being, find the Value of the house and price it right, from the start. Personally, I like to start BELOW the true value because I know this will bring more buyers and cause them to compete with each other. Once this happens I will get Top Dollar for the house, guaranteed.

Here's what you are looking for in terms of placing a Value on a house you want to sell:

• What other homes in the area have sold for - it's best to have sales within 1.5 miles of the subject property
• Use sales that are similar in size, age, bed/bath count, and amenities
• Sales should have been completed as recently as possible and no longer than 5 months out
• You must use the average of at least three to get an accurate Value
• The "best" three are not necessarily the highest priced ones, be certain you are comparing apples to apples
• Deductions are often made for amenities that are missing, this gets more complicated. A seller thinks his pool is worth $60,000 and the reality is it's worth $10-20,000. Be careful when adding or subtracting value

Using a Real Estate Search website - Realtor.com
I suggest using Realtor.com over the others because it is tied directly to the MLS systems that all Realtors use to list properties. The other websites also get their information from the MLS systems, however I have found that there is often a delay between the two systems, causing these others to be lagging several days behind on information. Both on newly listed available houses and those that have been sold already. Whichever one you decide to use should have a very similar search model.

 

​Caution : Just an FYI - There will be areas that allow you to "Request a FREE Analysis" - These are sent to Real Estate Agents that have paid for the service. You will be called, emailed and likely bombarded.

1. Go to Realtor.com > Click "Just Sold" > Enter a city and state in the search box (you may get more specific if you want) > click search
2. Next screen by the search bar > Enter a Bed count > Enter a Bath count > Enter Property Type > sort by "sold date"
3. On the right there is a choice of "List" or "Map" (List is the default) > Choose Map > Zoom in to your area until the count is 10-20 homes > click "List"
4. Click on "view details" of the first one > Under the picture you'll see a Sold date and #beds, #baths, Sq ft > scroll down to Property Details > now you'll see price per sq ft, year built, # stories, AC and Heat source
5. Return to the top of page > if this one matches the "Print" > Highlight the address of property and "right click" the mouse and select "copy"
6. Open a second browser window > go to Google > click the search window and "right click" the mouse and select "paste" > click on the search button > This will bring up other sites that house is listed on
7. **** What you are looking for is more picture of this house from the recent sale (there's usually 1 or 2 sites that will show the original pictures from when the house was for sale). Use these to compare the amenities to your house
8. Click on the Realtor.com Tab in your browser > Upper right corner click "Next Property"
9. Go through all of these sold homes using the steps above and find 3-5 that best match your house
10. Now for the math > take the 3 houses that match best and add their sold price together and divide it by 3 > this is the average Sold Price, write this number down
11. Add together the square feet of each of these 3 houses and divide that by 3 > this is the average square feet, write this number down
12. Divide the Average sold price by the average square feet > this is the average price per square feet
13. Take this average price per square feet and multiply it by the square footage of your house (do not use unpermitted space, for this purpose there is no value for that). This is the value of your house based on this research.
14. It may be necessary to add or subtract value from your house depending on how the amenities compare to the other houses.

That's the basis of how doing a Comparative Market Analysis is completed. It is important to understand that Appraisers and Real Estate agents do have access to actual Title Searches this allows them to use more variables when determining what houses match best. 

If you haven't done so already I would suggest reading my Free Guidance post "FSBO - You Can Do It, Here's How" for more information on selling a house yourself. ​

I am into All Things Real Estate, Right? Right!
If you've been reading through my helpful guidance posts there's a good chance you have read this before. 

Would you like more help in finding the value of your house? If you'd like my help in getting your house sold for Top Dollar, and saving a Ton of money doing so, then by all means reach out to me. It's full service help and guidance, from establishing the True Value to making sure you get Top Dollar on the sale, you'll be well taken care of every step of the way.

As always, my help to you is risk free, because I only get paid when I am successful at helping you get your house sold.
That's certainly proof that I am here to you help you accomplish that goal. 

yes, please help me get my house sold for top dollar