The True Derivative of Your Home's Value

Pricing your home is sometimes seen as a way of finding out just what your home is worth. While you may end up getting the price you set for your property, the only person that has any say over what your home is worth is the buyer that eventually goes through with it and purchases your property.

More so than a comparative market analysis (though its foundation is completed sales) and the amount of money you've spent on your property, the bottom line is that your home is only worth what someone else will pay. That can sometimes be a difficult thing to digest for some sellers and the sooner that it is accepted that only a buyer can dictate value, the easier a real estate transaction will seem.

Your Sale Is Not About You
Every aspect of your real estate transaction should revolve around how it will affect potential buyers. As you determine the kind of marketing plan you want to use, you should think about what a buyer would want to know. As you being to stage your home for potential showings, think about what a buyer would want to see and what a buyer would be turned off by.

Simply put, no matter what you've done with your home and no matter how much time you've spent there, the minute you put it on the market, it no longer belongs to you. You may own the home still, but everything you do with the property should be done to prompt a purchase. You may love that bright pink wall in your kitchen, but odds are a buyer won't. While you may cringe when you do it, think about changing the wall.

A Buyer Needs More Than Price
Price alone will not sell your home and while the amount of money a buyer wants to pay is kept in mind at every step of the process, it is not the sole factor contributing to a purchase decision. Many sellers think that because they have priced their home aggressively, they can relax on keeping the home kept up for showings and catering to a buyer's needs.

This is clearly untrue and any home that shows poorly will see interest decrease when it comes time to solicit purchase contracts. Your home may be priced in the lower tier of your local market for similar homes, but if you have a cluttered home with peeling paint and chipped bathroom tiles, your value will be affected. Value is determined by the buyer and anything they say that turns them off will greatly harm the value of your property.

Selling a home is a large life decision and that trait can make it very easy to think only of yourself when it comes time to sell your property. After all, it is your home of however many years on the market. It is your finances in the balance as you try to get the best possible price for the property. It is your time and effort expended in the process of selling the property.

However, just as any retail store owner will tell you, a buyer or customer could not care less about you or your financial situation. When you go to the supermarket, do you think about the financial state of the store you're buying from? If you did, would it prompt you to pay more for something you really shouldn't? Of course not and a real estate buyer operates no differently.

As you go through the process of pricing, marketing and selling your property, try to go through it all from the perspective of the buyer. Value is determined not by you or the various features of your property but instead by the impression the buyer gets of your home and the amount they would pay for it. Keep that in mind and you can help ease your real estate transaction at every step of the way.

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