How do I get the right price for my home?

When looking for help on selling your home, most advice will help you to do just that: sell your home. While selling your house is the ultimate aim, though, it is also important to fetch the best possible price. Underprice the home and you will find yourself out of pocket, or make people suspicious of something wrong with it. Overprice the home and no one will be interested in buying at all. 

So how can you make sure your price is right? Follow these five simple tips:

Check out the neighbours

Competitive pricing is crucial if you want to catch buyers' attention and stand out from the crowd - or if you want to avoid being too generous with your price tag. To be competitive, though, you must know what the going rate is. You could hire an estate agent to evaluate your home and give you a figure, but tools now exist online to see what the average price is your local area. Do not be afraid to use them. If you find a lot of homes for sale around you, you may need to lower your price. If you find there aren't many, you can consider raising it.

What is nearby?

Is your property near a beach? Is it in a holiday hotspot? Location is one of the most important factors in valuing of your home. A luxury home in a major city, such as Paris? Again, check the competition on property portals to see how many properties are in your area and what their asking prices are.

Size doesn't matter

Size doesn't really matter, no matter what some estate agents might say. Price per square metre is a useful measure for comparing a smaller property with another, bigger, one, but as a method to judge the accurate value of a home for sale, it is far from accurate.

Forget what you paid

It is no coincidence that one of the main search filters on all property portals is the price: many buyers rule out homes solely based on their budget alone. You may have done the same when you purchased it. The key thing is to forget all of that completely: the priority is helping your potential buyer to find a home they can afford that is priced fairly, not how much you profit you can make compared to 10 years ago. You are selling a piece of real estate, not a home with all its emotional baggage and memories. Do not let sentiment or your bank account cloud your calculations.

Make it worth someone's while

Sometimes, especially during a slow period, you need to encourage buyers to make a purchase. Developers offer things like cars, but just because you are not a large company, it does not mean you cannot sweeten the deal. If your home has been up for sale for several months, perhaps consider lowering the price for a limited period - and making sure you advertise it as discounted. Including furnishings can also be incentive.