When it’s time to sell your house, you may be feeling a little anxious. A chapter of your life is closing. There’s a lot of money on the table. You may be thinking “Is my house priced too high?” “Too low?” “Am I leaving too much money on the table?” These are big questions.
Luckily, you have a few resources at your disposal to figure out where your house stands among the crowd: a listing agent’s expertise and guidance, plus online property sites to get insight into the market.
So take a deep breath. Then do your homework. The more you know, the more confident you’ll be when it’s time to make those big decisions.
Turn to Local Experts — Because They Really Know Their Stuff
The good news: Local market info is freely available online, so you, the seller, can get a sense of what your house is worth.
The bad news: Local market info is freely available online, so most buyers will also have a general idea of what they think your home is worth.
When pricing your house, a listing agent has your back in a way an online property listing site just can’t. An agent:
- Has real world experience in your community.
- Knows the nuances of your neighborhood’s micro-market.
- Can expertly assess how your home compares to similar ones recently sold in your area.
- Can tour your property to determine, inside and out, where your house fits in the real estate landscape.
A website will do none of the above.
An agent will, yes, consider online market data to help you set the price of your home. But he or she will also rely on first-hand knowledge about your home’s unique perks (and quirks), as well as about the neighborhood, to better inform your listing price.
He or she can also recommend ways to market your house (Instagram-able photos, blog-worthy descriptions, etc.), pro stagers who can set your home up to dazzle buyers, and inspectors and contractors who can make any needed repairs.
That being said, you’ll want to have your own sense of what your house is worth too. As invaluable as a listing agent is to your selling journey, being the seller means you’re also the final decision maker.
So keep your laptop out. We’re going to do a little research.
Search Online Property Sites — Because They’ll Give IRL Experience Some Context
Millennials are the largest group of home buyers today, according to a NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ (NAR) report, and they overwhelmingly start their buying journey — where else? — online.
The internet is there for you as well — to an extent — when you’re ready to sell your home.
Online property sites like realtor.com can give you a sense of local real estate trends, including your city’s median listing price, median closing price, and the average price per square foot. As you search, there are a couple important things to do:
- Pay attention to houses in your area that are similar to your own in terms of size, attributes, and location. When you work with a listing agent to price your home, these houses will provide the main criteria for setting the amount.
- Take notes about Not all home upgrades will earn you more money. Your agent may tell you, for instance, that your chef-quality kitchen remodel is not in keeping with the neighborhood. In that case, you may not recoup those costs.what makes your house different from the pack. As you look at online listings, think carefully about why your house is worth more or less than similar houses in your community. The better you’re able to articulate these nuances to your listing agent, the better prepared the agent will be to list your home at an accurate and competitive price.
Having this information can also give you confidence in the price your agent ultimately recommends — you’ll know what’s standard for the market, and how the price determined for your house lines up. If there are discrepancies, talk to your agent about how he or she arrived at their price. Unlike the internet, he or she can give you a complete picture of what your home’s price should be and why.
Also, as you search, be aware that not all real estate listing sites are created equal. Realtor.com® aggregates listings from Multiple Listing Services (MLS) around the country, which provides the most up-to-the-minute data about home sales. (By the way, realtor.com® is the official listing site of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, which operates HouseLogic.com.) Most of ‘for sale’ listings at realtor.com®, for example, are refreshed every 15 minutes — so what you see is likely what you get. Another big property listing site (and brokerage), Redfin, also aggregates data from MLSs.
Trulia and Zillow, on the other hand, collect their listing information from a variety of sources, and may not always be as up to date as the MLS.
The takeaway: Seller, beware. Consider your online source. Take what you’ve learned from online listings to your agent to talk about what’s really best for you and your home.
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CBR, SRES - Licensed Real Estate Salesperson
Phone: 516.849.5895 | [email protected]
As an experienced professional Neil will do the leg work, keeping you up-to-date with new listings and the various market conditions that may impact the home purchase process. Sellers can also benefit from his skills in finance, negotiation, contractual agreements, and RE marketing. Call today and allow Neil to guide you through the complexities of buying or selling your home, eliminating hassles, and stress.
Member of:
National Association of Realtors
Long Island Board of Realtors
Multiple listing service of long Island
New York State Association of Realtors