The goal is to ask for as much money as possible without scaring off potential buyers. Some preliminary study can help you achieve the critical balance.

A fair market price can mean more money for you. There are several factors that combine to define the market conditions: inventory, interest rates and buyer/seller confidence. Pricing your home properly from the beginning is important, even in a seller's market. Today's buyers are sophisticated, and frequently develop a good sense of the market by using the Internet as well as by touring many homes.

As a seller, you want the educated buyer to tour your home as soon as it goes to market because they are typically better prepared to make an offer. If your home is priced too high, the educated buyer is less likely to go to the effort of submitting an offer. Generally, the first two to three weeks a home is on the market are the most critical because the educated buyers are ripe to buy.

Determine the right price by reviewing a market analysis of comparable properties sold within the past 6 to 8 months and by providing for current market conditions. A housing market is ever-changing.  Information provides guidance, but nothing will tell you or your agent what a home buyer will do until your home is tested in the market. Knowing the competition will prepare your home to compete favorably against similar homes.

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