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How to Properly Price Your Home for Sale

If you’re selling your home in the San Joaquin Valley, one of the first and most important things to do is to set the right listing price for it. Overpricing or underpricing your home can lead to lost opportunities that may prove too costly.

Here are some tips on how to determine the correct price for your property:

  1. Start with online valuation tools
    You’ll find home value estimators in real estate websites like Zillow and Realtor.com. These tools will ask you to enter your address, as well as certain details about your property, such as the square footage, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and the lot size. Using proprietary algorithms, the tool then provides you with an estimate of your property’s value.

    It’s important to note, however, that the value produced by these online tools are simply estimates based on available data on the market. It does not account for many things that make your home more or less desirable than the average property in your location. Also, the data on which the estimate was based upon may be incomplete or outdated. Given this, it’s not advisable to base the pricing of your home on these valuation tools alone.

  2. Conduct a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)
    A CMA is one of the most reliable ways to determine the listing price for your home. It’s based on “comps”, or the sale prices of comparable homes in your area. By reviewing and analyzing at least three comps, you can come up with a competitive price tag for your property.

    Your comps should meet certain criteria, including:

    • They must have sold in the last six months
    • They should be located within a half-mile radius around your property
    • Their sizes must be within +/- 25% of your home’s
    • They must have similar features and age range as your property’s

    If you can’t find sold homes that meet these criteria, you can use current listings of homes for sale in Modesto, CA, Merced, Chowchilla, and other San Joaquin Valley communities that are as close to yours as possible. Homes that sold earlier than six months may also serve the purpose. However, these could affect the accuracy of your CMA.

    After identifying your comps, compare the selling price and features of each one to yours, then adjust the price to reflect your home’s actual value. For example, if a comp that sold for $200,000 had 4 bedrooms, and yours only has 3, adjust the price down to, say, $190,000. If your home has a patio and the comp does not, adjust the price up, perhaps to $205,000. Get the average adjusted price of the three comps – this can then serve as basis for your listing price.

  3. Consult a Realtor
    As you may note, doing a CMA is not as simple as it seems. You have to identify the right comps, and must be knowledgeable enough about the market to determine how much to adjust the prices for. If you’re not confident about your ability to do an accurate CMA, it’s best to work with a Realtor who knows your area well.

    The Realtor may have access to information you’re not aware of, such as market trends and development plans in your area. They can factor this in coming up with a selling price for your home. Additionally, with their experience and knowhow, a professional real estate agent can put a value on intangibles that make your home unique and more saleable.

We at Soldavi Realty can help you determine the right listing price for your property. Send us some information about your home here, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. You can also call us at 209.975.7653 or email info(at)soldavi(dotted)com today.

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