Pricing a home for sale: More of an art than a science

Last week I was working with a client who is preparing to put his home on the market.  I met with my sellers, reviewed all the recent sales data including the recent “solds” and homes just under contract, “pendings”.

The analysis indicated market value of their home to be around $950k (price per square foot, condition and location).
 
STOP! Not so fast!
 
During that same week, I had represented a buyer on a purchase of “new construction”.

I had submitted offers to several different builders in behalf of my buyers.  The result was an acceptance on a beautiful new home with $1000’s given in concessions and an accepted price well under the builder’s published price! (even included all the model furniture in the home!)

A point to keep in mind here….builders often do not publish their sales data (not available on any internet site boasting to have the accurate information to assess home value).

In conclusion, the market value of my seller’s property would be inaccurate if only the published sales data is reviewed.

Maybe that is why we see some homes sitting on the market “for sale” for a very long time?

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