When you decide to sell your home, setting your asking price
is one of the most important decisions you will ever make.
The first thing a buyer sees is your price. If you
want to realize the most money you can for your home, it's
imperative that you make a good first impression.
This is not as easy as it sounds, and pricing strategy
should not be taken lightly. Pricing too high can be as
costly to a home seller as pricing too low. Taking a look at
what homes in your neighborhood have sold for is only a
small part of the process; this alone is not nearly enough
to help you make the best decision.
Team Teasdale will Pull Comparable
Listings and Sales
Team Teasdale will Look at every similar home that
was or is listed in the same neighborhood over the
past six months. The list should contain homes
within a mile if possible. Pay attention to
neighborhood dividing lines and physical barriers
such as major streets, freeways or railroads, and do
not compare inventory from other parts of town that
are not similar. Compare similar square footage,
within 10% up or down from the subject property, if
possible. Similar ages. In Utah County we have
pockets of homes that vary in year from one block to
another. Compare apples to apples.
Sold Comparisons on Utah County Homes
Our team will pull history for expired and withdrawn
listings to determine whether any were taken off the
market and relisted. If so, add those days on market
to these listing time periods to arrive at an actual
number of days on market. We will compare original
list price to final sales price. Also, we will
compare final sales price to actual sold price to
determine ratios. We will adjust pricing for lot
size variances, configuration and amenities /
upgrades. It is important to get the most similar
comparisons to arrive at true market value.
Under Contract and Active Real Estate Homes
Under contract or sale pending means a buyer has placed an offer on a home
and the seller has accepted the offer. The price on
the under contract homes are unknown until the sale
closes. A Realtor is not suppose to disclose the
accepted offer price prior to the closing.
Active Real Estate listings are only relevant if
they are an exact match to your home. Keep in mind
the market is flooded with short sale and bank
foreclosures. These active homes are not always good
comparisons to your home for many reasons.
Unapproved short sales which are about 90% of the
Utah County Real Estate market are priced by the
Realtor. The Realtor hopes the bank will take
this price. However, the bank does often not take
the listed asking price on a short sale.
Square Foot Cost Comparisons on Homes
Remember that after you receive an offer, the buyer's lender will order an
appraisal, so you will want to compare homes of
similar square footage. The appraisal system in Utah
County has recently gone thru a major change.
Unfortunately, this new system plays in the favor of
the inexperienced and or new appraiser. If you get
one of these on your home in Utah County you are in
trouble. I recently had an appraisal on a home in
Springville by the same company within a few weeks
apart. One appraised the home for $535k and the
other $410k. The appraiser that appraised the home
for $410k wouldn't allow an add on for an exterior
six car garage. Ridiculous! If your home is
appraised just off square footage you may have a
problem. This is one of the reasons to hire an
excellent Realtor in this market.
Average square foot cost does not mean you can
multiple your square footage by that number unless
your home is average sized. The price per square
foot rises as the size decreases and it decreases as
the size increases, meaning larger homes have a
smaller square foot cost and smaller homes have a
larger square foot cost. Team Teasdale would like to
take a look at your home and give you a free, no
obligation evaluation of your home. Don’t rely on
past appraisals or inexperienced Realtors here in
Utah County. Let our experience give you an honest
evaluation of your home. Many “rookie Realtors”
either under or overprice homes. Let our experience
help you determine the true value.