“People only see what they are prepared to see.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Part 1: Be realistic
How much is my house really worth? How to value my house may seem difficult to answer when selling your house on your own, but it is not. It is important that you value your home objectively and not subjectively by leaving your preconceived notions and emotions at the door. It’s hard to do, but you need to see your home as if it were someone else’s home and without the personal emotions that can cloud your judgment. Yes, you know your home better than anyone, which will help you value your home and sell it, but you can’t let that information influence the value you establish for your home too much. In this article, we’ll discuss a few points on how to value your home from the many strategies detailed in our eBook Sell Your Home Now: Without a Realtor and Save Thousands.
Although you will likely sell your home on your own, the number one frustration most realtors have is the fact that home sellers always believe your home is worth more money than it actually is. This is understandable, as we seem to overestimate the value of our personal belongings and possibly underestimate the value of other people’s belongings. Now, I’m not saying that some real estate agents don’t try to price houses down so they sell fast, save on marketing costs, and can get a commission faster. But a real estate agent’s fiduciary responsibility is to sell your home as quickly as possible while getting the most money for your home. If a real estate agent really lives up to his responsibilities, the price he sets should be the best price based on his research and not motivated by any other factor. The last thing they want to do is price a house too high, unless they’re just trying to make you feel good and win your business, which means the house won’t sell and they’ll have to have that awkward conversation with you in a month. more or less to reduce the sale price.
With this in mind, you need to be realistic when pricing your home. Ultimately, the true value of your home will be what someone else is willing to pay you for your home. Remember, the price of your house is what you are asking someone else to pay, but the value of your house is what you and the buyer ultimately agree the house is worth with the consumption of a contract. If you set a high price initially and have to keep lowering it, potential buyers might see it as desperation and wait to see how much your price will drop. It could also increase the “time on the market” of your home, which could send the message to potential buyers that something is wrong with your home.