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Pricing Calgary Houses to Sell

Before listing a Calgary home for sale, the most essential factor to consider is pricing the home correctly. How much is the Calgary house really worth? How can overpricing and underpricing be avoided? These are the basic questions that need to be answered for a Calgary home seller to be successful in reaching his goal.

A home's price tag says it all. Avoid overpricing – a home overpriced upon listing may lose the freshness of its appeal for the first 2 or 3 weeks of display. On the other had, underpricing may not be a concern. In today's market, Calgary homes priced below market value may often receive multiple offers, thus pushing the price closer to the current market price.

Like any commodity, pricing of Calgary homes follows the law of supply and demand. Selling Calgary homes is therefore partly an art and partly a science. Different agents vary in their ways of dealing with pricing Calgary houses to sell.

Comparing Apples to Apples

• When selling a Calgary home, consider listings and sales data that are comparable on several points. Take a look at similar homes from the same neighbourhood for the past six (6) months for all Calgary real estate.

• Observe closely the dividing lines like major streets, railroads or freeways. It is not advisable to compare listings from opposite sides of the tracks. These may vary significantly - the value for desirability and perceptions differ from each side of the road.

• Include only Calgary homes within a distance of no further than ¼ mile to ½ mile from the house for sale. Exceptional cases are when only a few comps are found in the immediate vicinity or when the property for sale is classified as rural.

• Comparing areas in square footage, consider only homes with a difference of 10% in area size, whether larger or smaller than the subject home for sale.

• Consider homes of similar ages. Homes that vary in age, differ greatly in values. Compare only those Calgary homes for sale built within the same decade.

Dealing with Sold Comps

• Study the history of withdrawn or expired MLS Calgary listings and the actual listing period. Determine those that were withdrawn and re-listed in the market, then add the additional days, to come up with actual period on market.

• Price reductions may be essential precedents. Carefully compare the original listing price with the final sales price. This determines the price reduction.

• Determine ratios by comparing final price of Calgary houses for sale with the actual sold price.

• Make price adjustments based on area size, upgrades, amenities and configurations.

Observing Patterns on Calgary MLS Listings

• Take a look at withdrawn and expired MLS Calgary listings, and check on the common factors they have. This helps in avoiding the same status of homes for sale.

• Determine which brokerage had this expired listing - whether it is a company that normally sells every real estate listing or is a discount brokerage that does not spend on marketing property for sale.

• After knowing the patterns, create ways to avoid listings of Calgary homes for sale from being expired.

Appraisals and Competition

• To prepare for the appraisal of your Calgary home for sale, come up with a comparison of homes with similar square footage as the one you offer for sale. Normally appraisers don't deviate more than 25% of the home size in computations. On average, they stay within the 10% range in net square footage.

• Know your competition in the Calgary real estate market. Tour these Calgary homes and take note of the positive and negative qualities of these homes. Replicate those positive ones in your own home for sale. Ask yourself if you prefer your Calgary home over those other homes, then adjust its price accordingly.

Calgary Real Estate Market Conditions

• Analyze all data based on existing Calgary real estate market conditions. During a buyer's market, where there's a load of inventory with few buyers, you may have to lower the price of your home for sale.

• During a seller's market, when there's low inventory with a lot of buyers, adding 10% more to the price from the last comparable house for sale would be wiser for a better profitability.

• Otherwise if there's a neutral market, you can safely set your initial price at par with the last comparable sale, then adjust accordingly with the market trend in buying a Calgary house.

After considering the factors, data and trends affecting pricing Calgary houses to sell, your Calgary home is now ready for sale. It takes reasonable comparison of similar Calgary homes for sale and taking stock of the present conditions in the Calgary real estate market.