The Importance of Pricing Your Home Correctly
Using an Appraiser's Approach to Correct Pricing

It is imperative in pricing your home that the realtor uses good comparable sales.  Have them be able to support the choices for good comparables by explaining and using appraisal guidelines.  Realtors must try to find a comparable property within the immediate subdivision and/or neighborhood, the most RECENT closed sales, the most similar in living area square footage and the most similar in construction design and appeal to the subject property.

An appraiser begins their search for comparables by using the guidelines of a sale date of six months or less, square footage within 400 feet of property and in the same subdivision.  They will then open up the parameters still staying within the guidelines described.  Number of bedrooms only counts in the final analysis, when needed.  Most realtors want to use good comparables and can use the high ones if all other things are in line.  If one comparable is a knockout, almost like yours in every respect, we must put more weight on it.

Many Realtors run computer print outs of numerous properties and really do not pick the most similar, but pick ones which are priced in the ballpark they are looking for.  This is how they arrive at a "higher" suggested list price.  If you, as a Seller, can listen carefully and make the Realtors really explain how they chose their comparables-- you will be able to "knock out" the "want your listing" pricing from the correct and most accurate pricing.