This is how best to price your home in a seller’s market, by Ameer Elahee.

By Ameer Elahee

This is how best to price your home in a sellers’ market

Nationally, most housing markets for the better part of this year have been a seller’s market. As so the supply for homes has been far less than the demand for them. While it might be hard for a buyer in this market, it should be a sigh of relief for those looking to sell.

With the bidding wars in progress, it is more than likely in this market that a seller would make a quick sale on their property and sell it at a price they would be happy with. However, you might get carried away and set the bar too high or, even worse, be misguided and set it too low.

SO, HOW DO YOU PRICE YOUR HOME IN A SELLERS’ MARKET?

1. CARRY OUT MARKET RESEARCH

Get a lay of the land before listing your home. You will need to survey to be sure that you are, in fact, in a seller’s market. That may sound overwhelming, but realtor.com and Zillow have developed tools that analyze given factors in your market and will be able to tell you whether you are in a seller’s market or not.

If you wish to go at it on your own, there are factors that you should consider. For one, you will need to analyze the average days on the market (DOM) of homes in your area. This variable tends to show the median age of houses in your market- Homes that spend less than ten days on the market point towards a seller’s market.

The following variable to consider is the Asking v. final home price. In a seller’s market, homes tend to be sold well over the asking price, 4 percent in the case of the Fontana market. That is because a seller’s market attracts stiff competition among buyers. Compare the listing prices in your area and those of other parts of the country, that way, you have an idea where to set the bar.