This is what we did. Our agent shared the comps they used to figure out what to list our house at. Our agent was well regarded and had a ton of experience selling similar houses in our area.
We knew some people who chose their own list price against the advice of their agent…and their houses just sat and sat on the market until the price was reduced. They would have been better listening. This was not during COVID when all bets were off on house sale prices.
We’ve always interviewed at least three realtors/companies when moving (and we’ve moved a lot). Each agent came with a market analysis and their marketing plan. Generally the listing price suggestions were all very close to each other since they were all based on comps.
Forgot the second part of your question - we’ve always gone with the realtor’s suggestion. We did have one house where there were very few comps and we probably underpriced the house but it sold immediately (day it hit the market). The issue was that the appraisers use those comps so if we had tried to overprice it, it may not have appraised at that price anyway. That happened to a family member and they had to reduce the selling price because their buyer wouldn’t have gotten their mortgage otherwise.
It’s so hard to say what the right method is for determining a sales price. My friend just sold his house in our neighborhood. He collaborated with his very experienced agent and they settled on a realistic price(anecdotally, I believed it was realistic as well). It sold in one day for 23% over the asking price. He was shocked.
Sounds like you don’t agree with your agent. Do you trust him/her in the other processes of finding/selling a house? Do you have a relationship or not really?
Did they present you comps? Can you bring your research to the table and compare and/or find a middle ground?
Are you in an area where current selling prices are going over asking anyway?
This is pretty important info - can you share more specifics?
Generally, there are multiple ways to get to a ballpark
Use zillow/redfin/chase home value estimator etc. to get a sense. You can average these (or) take a haircut etc. depending on the macro market trends
You also have your own purchase price for the house, and you could apply appreciation assumptions to guesstimate values as well
Ask your potential agents to give you an estimate
If you did extensive upgrades, just take an inflation adjusted bump to the market price to account for the value additions etc.
Price relative to the list pricing of other comparable homes. If other houses are selling at >$1M then you may benefit from listing just under $1M since that might bring in greater # of prospective buyers.
Ultimately, its a judgement call but getting to a reasonable ballpark should be relatively easy.
The real estate market doesn’t like outliers. So if you’re selling a 6 bedroom house with multiple high end upgrades in a neighborhood of 3 bedroom capes and formica counter tops- The realtor is likely to have a more realistic view of the comps/price than the owners do. Similarly- if you’ve got the last unimproved house on the block-- and all around you are houses which have had multiple rounds of renovations-- the house is likely not worth what the owners think it is because their logic is “Buy it for 200K, put in a 75K kitchen and redo two bathrooms for 60K and voila- magic”, whereas the realtor knows that the original roof, boiler, masonry, upgraded plumbing and ductwork for AC is going to cost 100K before you even get NEAR the pretty stuff.
So if you’re having difficulty determining the price because it’s an outlier- I’d go with an experienced realtor’s judgment. The outliers usually get punished price wise.
Easiest house to sell and price? The “builder’s special” in a 20 year old development with 150 other houses with similar layouts, furnishings and reasonably maintained (i.e. broken appliances replaced but no built in outdoor pizza kitchen which the buyer will need to rip out to put in a swing set…)
I have an unusual situation. It is a unique suburban property (multiple acres, secluded, adjacent to woods and walking trails, yet close to retail), but not in good condition.
The comps and analysis provided by the agents are excellent, but even they admit they are not sure what the listing price should be.
Current selling prices are over asking, but for houses which need no updating.
The recommendation is to list it below what it is assessed by the town for tax purposes.
A good friend is going through this now. They are selling a lakehouse that was the retirement home for her parents. The dad is now gone, and it’s not safe for the 90-something mom to live in alone.
There are houses on this lake going for millions, but they are updated and beautiful and large. Her house was literally built by her dad and is lovely but looks like it was built in the '70s. In the plus column, the water access is beautiful and plentiful. The Realtor suggested a price, but the brother in charge of the listing went quite a bit over. There are many siblings, and I think he was feeling the pressure not to go to go too low to avoid criticism from the siblings. It’s been less than a week – and a holiday week – so no one is freaking yet that it hasn’t sold.
The realtors are recommending a listing price that is at least 21% less than the Zillow estimate.
Presumably the Zillow estimate assumes the house is in excellent condition (which it is not), but on the other hand, the Zillow estimate also doesn’t take into account the unusually nice setting.
We sold H’s deceased Dad’s home (rather new) in probate in 2016. The realtor (old school friend) low balled it- I think that he gave it to his realtor D to do and she just wanted some fast income. I insisted we just go with what Zillow says it’s worth, which was about 20% higher. It sold immediately to an older gentleman.
It can’t be subdivided, there are no restrictions on development and it does not border on wetlands.
The house has its own septic, which will need to be upgraded – the perc test has been done and the property is good to go for up to a five bedroom house.
This is what I am somewhat concerned about – the amount of commission for a sale at a higher price is just not worth the time and effort for the realtor.
We’ve had a few homes that are on the market/have sold in the last few months. We usually have very few homes here for sale so it’s difficult to price.
My friend just sold her home in 3 days for around 75,000 more than the most expensive house sale, which was last year.
It’s a beautiful home, in great shape, on a parcel on land that makes its special. She had 3 agents, they agreed that the house was special and priced it above the usual selling price of homes here.
It sold in 3 days. But it’s a house that multiple people drove by, said if it ever goes on sale, I want to buy it. One of those people did.
There’s another house which has a lot of square footage but the set up is odd. The house was updated and is now for sale again after 6 months. It’s not getting a lot of traction because it’s priced similarly to the house i mentioned above but isn’t that special. There have been 2 price reductions.
So do you price high and then wait? Or price right or low and sell immediately? It’s a tough choice