How To Price and Prepare Your Home For Sale, What's My Home Worth?

Many Homeowners want to know how to put a value on their home.  Typically a homeowner wants more for their house then it is worth, and the buyers are only willing to pay market value and in a declining market below market value for a home.   The best advice I give my clients as a professional Real Estate agent, and a listing expert, is to price the home at the current market value right away when going on the market with a professional Real Estate Agent or selling For Sale By Owner.  Many factors come in to play when considering pricing.  Below I have listed some but not all the factors by importance-

1) Comparable Sales-  The homes in the neighborhood or area that have sold in the past 6-12 months are extremely important.  By pure numbers alone,  it is good to find a home with similiar sq footage and also in similiar condition.   Say your neighbor's home is 3000sq ft and your home is 3100 sq ft.   Say the home sells for $300,000 in 30 days.  The way many agents figure it out is divide the listing price by the sq footage.  $300,000 divided by 3000 is 100.  This means the neighbor's home sold $100 a sq ft in 30 days.  If the home is very comparable in condition, upgrades, lot/view, and location(same neighborhood) then you could take 100 x 3100(the subject properties sq footage)=suggested listing price $310,000.  I completely advise that you take atleast 2 to 3 comparables and take the average just in case the sale was a fluke(neighbor's friend bought it and paid too much etc.)

If you would like comparable sales in your area feel free to visit:

http://dealwithneal.com/Whatsmyhomeworth.aspx

and we can provide you a free market analysis of your home promptly.

2)Condition-  I highly suggest your home be in the best shape possible.  Clean and Neutral is very important.  The popular colors in our area is typically beige walls and white trim.  If your home has dark trim it may be a great investment to paint your trim white along with neutralize your walls. Consult a professional. Get rid of all wallpaper!  Not all buyer's share your personal tastes, and buyer's want move-in ready in the current market.  Turn-Key properties sell the quickest for the highest value.  If your home is not in this condition, you will need to significantly take a price reduction off the comparable sales in the right condition.

3)Lot/View-  When you go to a builder you typically pay a premium for a wooded, pond, or private lot.  Many of the production builders in Fishers/Carmel etc. charge between a few thousand up to $20,000 When pricing your home take this in to consideration.  If you paid $10,000 premium for your wooded lot and the comparable sales back to other homes, add 5-10k on your value!  Premium lots bring premium value and interest.

4)Staging/Presentation-  Homes that sell present themselves well.  Go into a local builder model and analyze, if you don't know any give me a call at 317-513-7695 or email me at aneal@C21SCHEETZ.COM and I can recommend some places to look.  These vacant homes are typically staged with furniture and decorated.  I have a great staging company to use if you need one.  Homes that are staged show the buyer how their furniture is going to fit in the rooms and also make the home show like a model.  Major builders and professional stagers know what they are doing so trust your professionals.  If you want premium dollar for your home or want to sell in a timely manner, I highly recommend you atleast consider staging.  Staging smaller homes can cost under $1,000 and larger homes reach higher costs, but the return on investment is almost always there if you do it right.

5)Hire The Right Professional-  If you seek professional Real Estate Counsel, you may be able to get a higher value for your home.  The reason for this is the more demand there is for a home and less supply, the higher the price.   If all your neighbor's are For Sale By Owner, and you go on the market, you may be able to get a higher price, because on the MLS there is less competition in your neighborhood.   More buyer's will see your home which will increase the demand and possibly the value.

All these factors and more can have an impact on value of your home.  If you are in the Metropolitan Indianapolis area or Hamilton County, I am here to help you as a Real Estate Professional as well.  If you want to know your value or just want some friendly advice,feel free to give me a call or email.  My name is Andrew Neal, and I am a top Real Estate Agent at Century 21 Scheetz.  You can visit me at www.DealwithNeal.com, call me at 317-513-7695, or email me at aneal@c21scheetz.com.  Thank you for reading how to price and prepare your home for sale.