The simple truth is that the market value of your home is what a buyer is willing to pay. An estimate of your homes value is a prediction of what most buyers would be willing to pay at a given time. This prediction requires a close look at two factors: recent home sales in your area, and an assessment of the real estate market. Pricing correctly is fundamental to a successful outcome in the sale of your home.
Market Analysis
Recent closed sales in your area offer the most relevant data for predicting the sale price of your home. Later, when your home is appraised for the buyer’s loan, the appraiser will only consider closed sales. List prices of homes on the market are of interest too, because they show the current pricing trend.
If your home is superior or inferior to most homes in the neighborhood, or if there are no nearby sales, then it will be more difficult to anticipate the responses of potential buyers. In this case, a strategy of trial and error may be necessary. This strategy will require a realistic assessment of buyer responses. Sometimes buyer responses are unrelated to the size and condition of the home. For example, in an area where...