It's amazing how difficult it is sometimes to decide in advance what a home is worth. There are lots of sold comparables and some are miles apart in sold price. You can't just sit down with a seller and say flip a coin because they'll flip it their way to the top comparable which is usually too high to attract the next buyer.
I believe the seller needs to stand back and see the big picture--not just a printed report. I like to sit down with the seller and look together at the high and low range of solds that are similar to their home. Then I like to discuss their competition. It's fun to pretend to be the buyers looking at homes. Would they buy their own home at the price they want as compared to the other homes. Sometimes they are so emotionally attached to their home that they can't see. In that case, it's good to find a similar home that's priced with the market and drive them to see it. Their home needs to be the best buy if they want the best buyer!
Home shoppers look at many homes for sale both online and in person. They are not going to purchase the highest priced home as compared to the lowest priced similar home anymore than you would pay extra for a dress or truck just because it's in a different store.
The sold comparables are important to establish what the home will most likely appraise for. There's no point to list above the competition, and there's no use to list above what it will appraise for in order for the buyer to get the loan to buy the home.
Usually after consulting with the seller and going over the active as well as sold listings of homes, the seller can see the value of their home and will typically list at a reasonable price in line with the market information they've received.
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