How to Set the Right Price for Southern NH Homes for Sale

Setting the asking price for their Southern New Hampshire homes for sale is one of the most important decisions homeowners have to make in the selling process.  Why is it so important?

    * You only get one chance to make a good first impression.  With so many competing Southern NH homes for sale, yours has to pop out immediately as a good value or buyers will move on, unlikely to return. You get one stab at your home's debut, and it's easy to blow it.

    * Set the price too high and you could hurt your chances of selling your home.  The amount of traffic a home gets in the first week on the market is about 5 times what it gets the following weeks.  The traffic continues to decrease every week. You might say, “Well, I’ll just lower my price.”  This can result in merely chasing the market down.  It conveys to buyers (the few who are still considering your home) that your home was overpriced and may still be.  Unless you drop the price to significantly below market value, you can be sure that you've missed your chance for getting an offer at your ask price, and the longer your home remains on the market, the more buyers will ask themselves "What's wrong with it?".

    * Setting the price too low is also risky. Buyers who are looking in a specific price range may not consider your home because of the low price tag.  They assume it will not fulfill their needs or worry that there’s something wrong with it.  If not enough buyers are aware of the deal you are offering, you won't get the benefit of competition to bring the price back up to it's highest market value and you'll likely end up selling for less than if you had priced it appropriately and competitively to start with.

How do you know what that magic number should be for your home?  Here are 3 factors to take into consideration when setting your asking price:

   1. Neighborhood sales prices:  Recent closed sales in your immediate neighborhood offer the most pertinent data for predicting the sale price of your home.  List prices of homes still on the market should be taken into consideration also, because they show the current pricing trend and they are the properties that buyers will be seeing and comparing yours too.  A professional real estate agent will do all this research for you as part of their services.

   2. Condition of your home:  If your home has been better maintained, is more up to date and shows better than the other Southern NH homes for sale, it will sell faster and for more money. Updates, even those as minor as having current paint colors, impact pricing.  Updated kitchens and baths are especially important to buyers. 

   3. Appraisal value:  As the seller, you can get an appraisal on your home before putting it on the market.  You’ll have to pay for it, but it may be worth it to get access to this pricing tool.

Ready to sell your home?  Let me do the research for you and help you set the best price to get your home sold.  Call me today at 603-821-1134 or email me at Dave@DaveHeeter.com.