What matters more when you’re pricing your home? The market for similar homes or how much money you’ve invested into it? While you can hope to recoup some, if not all, of what you’ve put into your home when you sell it, the market plays a bigger role in determining how much buyers will be willing to pay for your home. Before you list your home, pay attention to these home selling tips so that you’re able to get the right price and complete the sale quickly.

Know What’s Selling

Before you choose a price for your home, take a look at the going rate for similar homes in Philly. A comparative market analysis gives you a fair idea of what people are willing to pay for a house like yours. Look at the sale price of homes in your zip code or neighborhood with a similar square footage or number of bedrooms. You also want to pay attention to any differences between recently sold homes and your own. For example, homes with an extra bedroom or finished basement might sell for more than what you plan on pricing your home at while a smaller home on a louder street might have sold for less.

Don’t Aim Too High

One of the most important home selling tips to remember is not to price your home too high. Even if you’ve put a lot of effort and money into fixing up your place over the years, people looking at homes in Philly are going to wonder why yours is so much more expensive than similar homes in the neighborhood. An initial listing price that is too high can turn off buyers, and you might not win them back, even if you drop the price a month or so later.

Instead of aiming high, pick a price that is in line with the market. If your house is really worth the extra thousands and really does stand out from the rest of the homes on the market, people will be willing to bid more to win it. But, if you turn them off with a too-high price at the start, they won’t take the time to check out what you’re selling.

Talk to an Agent

A real estate agent can help you choose the right listing price for your home the first time. An agent can also provide you with a comparative market analysis for your home and can help you work through any negotiations with a buyer. When interviewing potential seller’s agents, find out how many homes they have sold in recent months and look at the listing price and the sale price for those homes. Ideally, you’ll want to work with someone who has sold houses for the same amount as, if not more than, the listing price.

Don’t Be Afraid to Negotiate

Odds are, a buyer is going to make you an offer for less than your home’s listing price. Unless you are swamped with offers, you don’t necessarily want to ignore the ones that seem too low. It might be an attempt by the buyer to get you to negotiate with him or her. Make a counteroffer and see where that takes you. The buyer just might accept it.

Although you might want to list your home for $450,000, if similar homes are selling for $250,000, things just won’t work out. Knowing what’s going on in Philly real estate when you’re trying to sell and being as flexible as possible will help you get the best price you can for your home.

[cf]skyword_tracking_tag[/cf]