One of the most important questions we ask our clients is why they are selling. Their answer completely defines what approach they should take when listing their home.

Let’s say that you are in a time crunch and need to sell your home as quickly as possible. Most likely, we will list your home for a price that is right under market value. Why? Because this will cause a frenzy of potential buyers to show up to see the home and then ultimately put in offers that are more often than not above market value. The priority here is to get interested buyers in the door quickly by enticing them with an attractive list price. From there, the trends in the market and competitive nature of it will ensure that your home will sell for top dollar.

We’ll advise you to take closing time and contingency/option periods into major consideration when time is of the essence, because even though more money is always attractive, you do not want to get stuck in a prolonged transaction or have to deal with contracts falling through.

It is always smart to come up with a defined (and reasonable) sale price that is the absolute lowest you will take when listing your home. This not only helps you eliminate offers, but also creates expectations that will fall in line with current market trends and help you understand the true value of your home. Of course, all offers should be taken into consideration, but having this set amount will help make the process less challenging.

Once you have decided what your priorities and limits are, your agent should be able to take them and create an approach that will honor your wishes while staying realistic and achievable. If you are wanting to list your own home, do your research, define your goals and make sure that your expectations fall in line with what the market expects from you as a seller.