How Do Realtors Determine a Home’s Listing Price?

When you’re selling a home in Ellicott City, you’ll rely on your Realtor® to help you come up with the right listing price – but how do real estate agents figure out what a home is likely to sell for, and how will it apply in your situation? Find out now.

A lot of factors go into a home’s listing price, including:

Location
The home’s age
The home’s condition
Improvements you’ve made
What other homes have (or haven’t) sold for in the area recently
Market conditions

Real estate agents look at all these factors – and a few more – to determine how much a buyer is likely to pay for your home. They do this by comparing your home to similar homes that have sold in the same area recently. These homes are called comps (short for comparables), and they have a lot to do with how much you can ask buyers to pay for your house.
Related: Find out how much your home is worth now

What Do Realtors Use for Comps?

Realtors use homes that are similar to yours in location, age, size and amenities to evaluate how much your home is worth. The homes your agent uses will be close to yours – in the same neighborhood, if possible – and they’ll have been on the market recently. That’s the only way to determine what will happen in your market. In some cases, agents use homes within a few-mile radius; in others, they look at specific neighborhoods and large communities. Sometimes it’s even more specific than that.
During these evaluations, your agent will look at:

Homes currently for sale
Homes that failed to sell
Homes that sold

Homes Currently for Sale

By looking at the homes currently for sale, your agent will be able to see what your competitors are up to. These numbers also help you decide what price range your home belongs in and whether you want to be competitive, sell for less than your neighbors, or ask for more because your home can justify a higher price.
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Homes That Failed to Sell

Your agent will look at homes the sellers took off the market because they failed to sell. When homes similar to yours were pulled off the market without selling, your agent can look at them and see where the sellers went wrong – and prevent you from making the same mistakes. A home that’s been taken off the market might have been priced too high, and that’s a mistake you can easily avoid.

Homes That Sold

The bottom line is that your house is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it. The homes that have recently sold in your neighborhood or community (not all over the city – pricing is far more specific than that) are a good indicator of what buyers are willing to pay for your home.

Market Conditions

The real estate market in your community is really specific. What’s happening in your neighborhood might be vastly different than what’s happening in another neighborhood across town. The market depends on a lot of things, like amenities, schools, how much new construction is going up and several other factors – even the condition of the roads in the area.

Are You Selling a Home in Ellicott City?

If you’re thinking about selling your home in Ellicot City, Columbia, Catonsville, Pikesville or Owings Mills, we can help you.
Call us at 410-465-5822 to learn about our innovative marketing strategies that can put your home in front of all the right buyers. It’s our goal to sell your home quickly and at the best possible price, so call us today to learn more!
If you’re also looking for a new home, use these links to check out the hottest listings: