Putting your home on the market? Here’s what you need to know about home pricing in Chicago’s Western Suburbs.
The importance of home pricing
When pricing a home, you must strike a careful balance between accuracy and profitability. Pricing it too high might put off buyers and give you a hard time attracting good offers, resulting in a stale listing, or one that has been on the market too long. Pricing it too low, on the other hand, might help you attract more offers, but may cause you to lose out on hundreds of thousands in profit.
The first four weeks after a home is listed is the best period to attract reasonable offers. Pricing it correctly will allow you to make the most of this four-week period. Otherwise, the listing becomes stale as the days pass by with no serious offers.
That is why it’s crucial to price your home correctly. Your personal attachment to your home might cause you to price it too high, hence the need for an agent who is well-versed in pricing homes.
How to price your home correctly
Your asking price should be based on the following:
- Recent sales in the neighborhood
- Comparable properties (comps) in the neighborhood
- Finishes and fixtures
- Upgrades
Take a look at recent sales and comps in the neighborhood to see how much your home can sell for. Comps are properties that are the same housing type and configuration as your home. This requires you to look at other homes in depth – the house down the street might look outwardly similar to yours, but it might sell for a higher price because it has an additional bedroom, and all bedrooms are situated on the top floor.
The same goes for a home located on a different street in the same neighborhood – the property might sell at a higher or lower price, depending on which public school district it is in.
Certain upgrades can also drive up your home’s value. Such upgrades may include smart home technology, sophisticated security and alarm systems.
Switching to professional-grade bathroom and kitchen fixtures can also give your home’s value a boost. Even simple things like repainting the walls and hiring a professional landscape artist for the yard can have a positive impact on your home’s value.
Hiring a listing agent
A trustworthy agent will help you set the right asking price for your home. They can help you look at comps and recent sales in the neighborhood to make sure that the asking price is as accurate as possible.
They can also give you advice on home upgrades that can increase its value in the market. Moreover, they can keep you posted on market trends and developments that will affect buyer behavior, as well as the value of your home.
If you’re getting your home ready to list, feel free to call us, Dave Ricordati at 630-854-7676 and Kathy Ricordati at 630-915-881. You can also reach us here. We’d be more than happy to help you sell your home in the Western Suburbs.
