How to price properties to sell faster: 12 expert tips

Now that many real estate markets across the country are shifting to a balanced market or a buyers’ market, it’s more important than ever to learn how to determine property values and to master this skill. When we work with sellers, our number one job is to sell their property; that’s what they’ve hired us to do. It’s exciting to win a new listing, but be careful not to lose sight of the main task – this begins with pricing correctly.

Pricing properties correctly is critical to ensuring our listings sell for the best price and terms possible. The correct listing price means more exposure for your listings, which drives the price up and improves offer terms, especially when there are multiple offers. The more attractive the price, the more interested buyers you’ll have. The more buyers, the more (and better) offers you’ll be able to negotiate for your seller.

Keep reading to find our best strategies for how to price properties, plus factors affecting property values and tools you can use in your pricing strategy.

1. Do your homework before visiting the property

Research any previous listings in the MLS and pull up the address in public records to get a sense of what you’ll be walking into at your listing appointment. Look at the key metrics (bedroom and bathroom count, square footage, lot size, location), check out photos from old listings and pay attention to the market history, such as if it was previously listed and didn’t sell. This will give you a more complete picture of the property’s metrics and history, which will help you determine the best pricing strategy.

2. Visit the property in person

Ask the seller to give you a tour and tell you about any upgrades they did to the property. Ask for the ages of key components of the home, such as the roof, HVAC system, electric, windows and any major renovations. If there were renovations done recently, get an approximate cost from the seller, so you can market it as an added value in the listing description (“over $100k in upgrades”).

If the seller is comfortable with it, take a quick video for yourself to help you remember the details of the property when you get back to the office. Even if it’s occupied by tenants and you’re not able to get inside yet, do a drive-by. The more information you can gather about the property in person, the better.

Real estate is hyper-local, and driving by the property is the best way to give you a sense of the exact location. Look for what’s next door, check out the curb appeal and drive around the neighborhood to get a sense of the vibe. All of these aspects will help you select the best comps and determine the right listing price.

3. Remember the list price is the marketing price, not the sale price

Homeowners sometimes have a tough time understanding this until it’s explained to them, but it’s a crucial concept. The list price of a property is a key piece of marketing; it is not necessarily the price the home will sell for. In many cases, properties sell for much more than the list price. Choose a price that will reach and appeal to the broadest number of qualified buyers out there, creating demand and (hopefully) a bidding war to drive the price up.

How to explain this to a seller: start with the comps. Show your seller several different sold properties with different pricing strategies, including listings that were overpriced and sat for months and listings that were priced competitively and sold above asking. Then show them the active listings and ask which home they’d choose if they were a buyer, and why. That’s your competition.

Here’s what to say:

“As you can see, the properties that are priced aggressively actually end up selling for more than those that start too high. It’s counterintuitive, I know, but that’s what the data tells us. Looking at the current competition, what price do you think would make our listing look like the best value and drive buyers to this property versus all the others on the market?”

4. Research comparable properties in MLS

The MLS is your best resource for finding all the necessary data to determine property value. I like to start with recently sold properties within the past six months, then look at pendings and finally, look at what’s active.

• The sold listings are your true data points; they’ve closed and you can see the final sale price.
• The pending listings give you a sense of the current buyer activity in that particular price range. Pay attention to the days to offer on the pending listings.
• The active listings are your competition, and these will help you hone in on the most strategic price compared to what else is available. For example, if a similar house is priced at $500k and has been on the market for a month, you may choose to price your listing at $475k.

In general, the more recent the sale and the closer geographically to the subject property, the better the comp. Prices can vary greatly depending on where a property is located in the city or town, as location is one of the key metrics in pricing a property. Stick to comps close by. I like to use a radius search and pull up a map in the MLS to find the closest comps possible.

The sale date is very important, too, as the market can change dramatically over the course of years or even months. For example, if the house next door is the exact same floor plan and has the same upgrades as your listing but it sold back in 2021 during the Covid boom, the closing price likely wouldn’t be relevant in today’s market. Stick to comps that have closed in the past three months, if possible.

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5. Don’t forget the comps that didn’t sell

Check for any expired, cancelled or withdrawn properties that are similar to your listing. If a home is very similar and didn’t sell, that’s a very important data point to have, especially if it doesn’t seem overpriced.

Look for any clues – be a detective. Why didn’t it sell? When in doubt, call the agent and get the inside scoop. Maybe it was simply a matter of timing, or maybe it needed a brand new septic system that would cost $50k, and the seller wasn’t willing to do the work. Whatever the reason, it will be good to know when you’re pricing your listing.

6. Consider your listing through the eyes of a buyer

Some properties are tough to price. What do you do if there aren’t any similar or comparable sold properties? In the Boston area, I see this all the time, since we have so much variety in our real estate inventory. Think about what other properties a buyer would likely be considering in the same area and price range, even if the size or style is slightly different.

You’ll also want to look through the eyes of the buyer when it comes to condition and location. Maybe your seller isn’t bothered by being on a main road, but your average buyer is going to expect a discount for that. Regardless, seeing your listing from the perspective of a buyer will give you insight into how you’ll price the property.

7. Start with a price range, then narrow it down

When talking pricing strategy with your seller, always talk in terms of price range. You never know what the market’s going to do, so it’s smart to hold off deciding on a specific list price until the day you go live on the MLS (or the day before, if necessary). This way, you can do another check to see if anything else has come on the market and make sure you’re choosing the most strategic price.

For example, if several other properties come on the market that are similar to your listing, you’ll want to price lower to make yours the best value and drive buyers to yours. The market is constantly fluctuating, and so should your property pricing.

8. Look at buyer matches at different prices

Most MLSs allow an agent to see how many buyer matches there are for a listing, even before it goes live. We call it “contact matches” in our Boston MLS. Check to see how many buyers there are who have searches set up in MLS and would be a match for your listing, at different prices.

How many matches would there be at $599k vs $600k vs $625k? This is another way to calculate the appropriate price to reach the most buyers. Here’s what it looks like:

9. Stay in the neighborhood or condo building

When you’re pricing a single-family home, stay in the neighborhood to pull comps, if possible. When pricing a condo, try to stay in the building, even if it means going back further to a year or more. This will keep the amenities, location and any additional fees consistent.

The more comps you consider, the more complete your picture will be of the correct value. Of course, when it comes time to go live, the most important comps are the active listings, since that’s your competition.

10. Pricing is an educated guess

Do your best. I like to tell my sellers that pricing is both an art and a science. At the end of the day, it’s really just an educated guess based on the available data and your market knowledge. If you know the price you and the seller agree to is going to be too high, have a conversation about a future price reduction up front, so there aren’t any surprises later on.

In my opinion, it’s always better to price low and drive the price up than to price too high and chase the market. This almost always results in a lower sale price than if there were multiple offers.

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11. Check Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com

These aggregators may or may not be accurate – that’s not the reason for checking them. Your seller will be looking at these websites to see what their home is worth, so you want to be aware of what they’re seeing and expecting. This knowledge will help you prepare for the conversation with your client.

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12. Practice

If you’re not feeling 100% confident in your pricing skills, practice. Do comparative market analyses (CMAs) for your friends and neighbors. The more you hone your pricing skills through practice, the better you’ll be. Ask around your office to find a mentor who can check your work and give you specific feedback, as well.

Factors affecting property value

So what affects a property’s value, and what do you need to consider when looking at comps?

Factor 1: Location

Stay in the same city/town, as prices can vary greatly depending on which town you’re in. Go hyper-local, as well. Use Google Maps to research what’s nearby and do a drive-by to really get a sense of the exact location.

Sometimes, a home simply being on the other side of the street can result in a significant price difference. Examples of things to look for: main roads versus neighborhood communities, backyards backing up to train tracks or highways, industrial/commercial areas versus residential areas and distance to public transportation.

Factor 2: Condition

Two homes may be next door to each other with similar layouts and bedroom counts, yet one could have just been completely renovated while the other has the original interior from 1980. Condition is a hugely important factor in pricing your listings.

Now, the caveat is: with certain upgrades, the market won’t care how much the seller spent (example: if the seller spent thousands on custom wallpaper, they may not get that back dollar for dollar). Buyers tend to care most about the major systems like the roof, heating system and electric, and they’ll spend more for updated kitchens and bathrooms. Consider upgrades and overall aesthetics when looking at your comps, and look for properties in similar condition.

Factor 3: Square footage

Size matters. Look for comps with similar square footage to the listing you’re pricing, give or take a few hundred square feet, depending on the overall size. For a typical single-family home that’s 1,800 sq ft, you can pull comps in the 1,500 – 2,000 sq ft range.

Always go back to: what else would a buyer for my property be looking at? Be careful to check for finished basements when looking at square footage! Sometimes a finished basement is included in the overall square footage, and sometimes it’s not. Make sure you’re not skewing your numbers by not accounting for this.

Factor 4: Bedrooms and bathrooms

The more bedrooms and bathrooms a property has, the higher the price will be, yet there are key distinctions you’ll want to consider. The difference between a two-bedroom and a three-bedroom home is much greater than the difference between a five-bedroom and a six-bedroom home, just as an extra bathroom makes a bigger impact in a smaller home than in a large estate.

For more specifics on the actual dollar value of an extra bedroom or bathroom, call your favorite local appraiser and pick their brain. Also consider whether there’s an en-suite bathroom and a bathroom on each floor, and compare like with like when pulling comps.

Factor 5: The land

Pay attention not only to lot size and acreage, but also how much of the yard is flat and usable versus woods or conservation land; whether the house is on a corner lot or not, and if there are any significant positives or negatives about the land itself (is there a super steep driveway that will be difficult to plow in the winter?). In some areas, having a pool is a positive, while in some parts of the country, pools can actually be considered a negative for buyers due to liability and hassle.

Factor 6: Off-street parking and garage bays

This is another great question for your local appraiser: how much value does an extra garage bay or parking space add? In downtown Boston, a parking space on its own can sell for six figures, while out in certain suburbs, a two- or three-car attached garage is expected.

Tools to use when pricing a property

There are several tools available when you want to know how to determine property value and become an expert in pricing property correctly:

• MLS. The best source of data and comps is your local MLS. Use the MLS to access sold properties, pending sales, active listings and research nearby properties that did not sell. Look at all the factors listed above to come up with an appropriate price range for the property you’re pricing.

• Public record. Public record is helpful, especially when researching properties that haven’t sold before (and therefore do not have an old MLS listing you can look up). Keep in mind that the public record is not always correct, so verify the information with the seller.

• Assessor’s database. Check your town’s assessor’s database for more information about the property you’re pricing. You can find out info about the lot lines, systems, roof, etc. Always check with the sellers to verify the info and make sure it’s correct.

• Other agents. Talk to other listing agents in the area to find out how the buyer activity has been for similar homes. If you’re pricing a property in an area you’re not as familiar with, talking to a few of the top agents in that area can provide valuable intel you can use when pricing your listing, such as whether there’s a planned major development or a large company moving to or from the town.

• Appraisers. We’ve mentioned this before, but build relationships with local appraisers to have people you can call with specific questions about pricing a property. Most appraisers will be happy to share their knowledge with you, and that insight can be extremely useful when pricing a property.

If you want to leverage some of your research, check out HouseCanary. They provide real estate data you can use when pricing your listings. It’s a great place to start and save some time up front.

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The full picture

With new ideas and tips for how to price properties, you can confidently go into your listing appointments knowing you’re well-equipped to educate and advise your sellers to get them the best offers possible. Use the data and comps you find to back up your pricing recommendation to your client, or better yet, show them the data and allow them to tell you the price they’d like to list at. Remember: the list price is the marketing price, not the sale price.

About Ashley Harwood

Ashley Harwood began her real estate career in 2013 and built a six-figure business as a solo agent before launching Move Over Extroverts in 2018. She developed training materials, classes, and coaching programs for her fellow introverts. Beginning in 2020, Ashley served as Director of Agent Growth for three Keller Williams offices in the Boston metro area. She’s now the Lead Listing agent for the Fleet Homes team in Massachusetts and a regular contributor to Vetted by HousingWire. She created The Quiet Success curriculum and has taught thousands of real estate agents nationwide. She has also been a guest speaker at top industry events and has been named a leading real estate coach by prominent industry publications.

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