Marketing Your Home

Determining the Value of Your Home

Pricing Your Home

To do this successfully, you need to understand how the market works, be realistic and use a proven marketing plan.

The Huff Team has listed and sold numerous homes in the St. Louis area. Our marketing plan takes into account that today's home buyers are well-informed and technologically savvy. We aggressively market our listings through realty publications, the Multiple Listing Service, direct mail, reverse prospect matching, agent caravans, regular open houses and on the internet through both local and national websites, as well as our own personal business website.

The goal is "maximum exposure." Some real estate agents will list a home, put a "for sale" sign in the yard, and then simply wait for a buyer to call. We know that you do not wait for buyers to come to your home; you must bring the home to the buyers! To find out why other agents list homes, while The Huff Team sells them, call us at (314) 336-1954.

Once you decide to sell, you need to determine the value of your home. A helpful step in determining your home's value is a quick review of what DOES NOT determine its value:

The amount you originally paid for the home DOES NOT determine its current value.

The amount of profit you would like from the sale of the home DOES NOT determine its value.

The amount you owe on the current mortgage DOES NOT determine its value.

The amount your neighbor (or father or sister-in-law, etc.) "thinks it is worth" DOES NOT determine its value.

The easiest way to determine its value is to go by the textbook definition of what any product (in this case, your home) is worth in a market economy:

YOUR HOME'S VALUE IS DETERMINED BY WHAT BUYERS IN TODAY'S MARKET ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR IT.

This may seem obvious, but many buyers who do not realize their home's true value end up pricing it incorrectly and wind up frustrated when it does not sell.

So how should you determine the price of your home? Click here.

The price of your home is determined by what similar homes in your area have sold for. These statistics are commonly referred to as "comps." In today's market, If you ignore the comps or randomly choose a price on your own, you will not sell your home quickly, if at all.

Keep in mind that most buyers use a Buyer's Agent and will know the comps when they are house-hunting. Because you will be selling to informed buyers, it is important to price your home correctly.

Here are some important things to remember about pricing your home and using comps:

Know the difference between a comp and a listing

Your home's price is based on homes in your area that have already SOLD. If the person down the street has his house listed for sale, his house is not a comp. (For example, if houses in your neighborhood have regularly sold for $200,000, and your neighbor is trying to sell his for one million dollars, it does not make his nor your house worth one million dollars. Sellers can ASK for any price; it is only the SOLD prices that determine value.)

You will get credit for home improvements

Your home's price increases with the home improvements you've made. For example, If you recently updated the kitchen or bathroom, those updates will increase the value. If you updated 15 years ago, those are no longer true updates, and will affect the price minimally.  Ask The Huff Team for an update checklist, and we will help you determine how the improvements you've made will affect the price.

Use professional advice

When you list your home for sale, your friends, family and co-workers will probably be interested and may tell you their opinions. Please remember that even though they mean well, they are not professionals when it comes to real estate advice. Just because your brother paid $150,000 for a three-bedroom home ten years ago does not mean YOUR three-bedroom home is also worth $150,000. Remember, your home's price is determined by the comps in today's market.