Tom Vesolich
RE/MAX Allegiance
5641 Burke Centre Pkwy
Burke, VA 22015
"each office
independently owned"

The answer is ... survey says -- PRICE IT RIGHT!!
...it's not what you need to get...
...not what you want to get...
...not what you think it is worth...
...it's not what you have invested in it compared to the guy next door...

But the key is pricing it close to the market value

Most good realtors will be able to tell you what the market value of your home is. The process they use in determining that value is just about what an appraiser goes through for your purchaser's mortgage company. The appraisal will most likely be the determining factor in whether or not a deal goes through. So let's say you get a contract on your house for $250,000. An appraisal is done by the lender and they determine that the market value is only $230,000. A couple of things could happen:
    1.First of all, the purchaser could probably get out of the deal because it appraises for less than the contract price. Few people want to pay more for a home than what the appraisal says it is worth.
    2.They could decide to go through with it and come up with extra downpayment funds. Or they might negotiate with you to lower the price. This still requires them to pay more, however.   
    3.You could lower the price to the appraised value if the purchaser still wants to buy the house.
 
Now if your house was on the market closer to the appraised value it may have sold sooner. It's also possible that it could have sold at a higher price (this requires more explanation). The point is that unless someone desperately has to buy a house and doesn't care about the market value, you will not sell for a higher amount than the appraised value. Does it happen? Yes. Is it likely? No!

So when it comes to pricing your home, ask a lot of questions about the market value and how it is determined. And then price it close to that amount.

By now you may be thinking of this as just more real estate agent bologna (baloney if you are from Pittsburgh). That's ok. It means you won't call me and neither of us will have had to waste the time getting aggravated with one another. And, I will have been able to get your neighbor's house on the market and sold while yours sits there...overpriced...having made your neighbor's look like a great deal.



The value of a home is the amount a buyer is willing to pay under a given set of circumstances. The seller sets the price, but the buyer determines the value.

A home surrounded by smaller, less expensive homes decreases in value. A home surrounded by larger, more expensive homes increases in value.

Value is not determined by cost or how much is invested, but by the benefit or value derived. For example, a home with a new roof that cost $6000 will probably not sell for any more than a home with a new roof that cost $3000. The value is in keeping the home protected from the elements, not the cost of the protection.

Value is determined by what a purchaser gets from a home, and not what a seller has put into it.

Improve your home for your pleasure and enjoyment and not because you think you might add value for a resale.

Base your opinion of value on documented recent sales. It’s what a purchaser’s lender and appraiser will do. A seller’s need for money does not increase the value of a home.

Value is specific to given location. The same home in two different areas will probably have different values.

A home that is priced right is more likely to attract an offer closer to the listed price.