The Gold Coast Standard and Darien Real Estate

How Do Realtors Price Your Home for Sale…Darien Real Estate

Its spring and a great one at that if you are a Darien CT Realtor.The market has blossomed  along with the trees and homes are moving nearly as fast as they come on the market…..IF THEY ARE PRICED CORRECTLY.

So if you are thinking of selling your home  you might be wondering just how Realtors come up with home prices in a place like Darien.You’ve probably heard this before but it is part science,part art ,and part market experience and knowledge.

I’ve been doing my share of Comparative Market Appraisals (or CMA’s as they are known )in the past few months and thought it was time to reveal what actually goes into this seemingly, mysterious process.

First, the  science part. As  Darien Realtors, we look  first for properties that have recently sold or bindered that have similar characteristics and locations to the subject property. Those factors include, size of property,square footage,age,condition.location,style of home and extras such as a pool,out building, tennis court etc.

Of course, no two homes are exactly alike and that is where the “art “comes in.A good Realtor in Darien  or elsewhere will know which homes are truly comparable. Just because two homes match up on paper doesn’t mean they are comparable. Is one on a busy street versus a cul de sac? Does one have a new kitchen?Does the property have wetlands or other issues? Does one have a finished versus unfinished basement?Is exterior condition comparable? What about the quality of the interior finishes??Is one home close to the neighbors and the other sited better? These are just a few of the intangibles that must be factored in to the pricing process.

Then when we  settle on several “comps” (and there should be about six) a truly experienced Darien Realtor will have even deeper knowledge as to why those homes may have sold at a certain price.For example, last week I was doing a price opinion for a client and one of the “comps” was home that looked perfect on paper. Then I remembered that the builder sold the property on the low side because there was a illness in the family and he simply needed to get on with a sale.

This kind of information is why it is so important to select a Realtor who works full time in real estate and really has an ear to the ground.I could have easily used the low priced home as a “comp” for my client but instead omitted it because it did not reflect true market value.

If you’re selling your home ask  your Realtor why they selected the “comparables”they did. You can even ask them to show the ones that they didn’t use.It will give you a greater understanding of the process and hopefully make you more confident of your asking  price.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 17th, 2010 at 9:11 pm and is filed under Realtor ABC's, Sellers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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