One of the nice things about doing business with a realtor is that they bring in piles of research they have done on your home, and help to establish a price for your home based on their experience and the data they have collected. You may not have their experience, but you absolutely have access to the data that they collect. You can offset any lack of home pricing experience you may have by using some simple tips on how to develop a competitive price for your home that will help you home sell quickly and for a profit.
The first thing to do is to collect that data that the realtors have to help determine what they feel your house is worth. The data that they realtors use is the assessed values of the homes closest to yours, the assessed values of homes in areas similar to the area you live in, and the selling price of homes that have recently sold in your area. To a realtor, the most important bit of information is recent sales information. If you have a series of homes that are selling around you, then that makes it much easier to compile the information you need.
There are many websites on the internet that will help you find the assessed values of homes in your area for a fee. You can also check with your local hall of records to see if they release assessed value information. Some municipalities release that kind of information, and others do not. There is also several websites you can visit to get the recent selling prices of homes in your area. There are a few subscriber services that offer essentially the same information that realtors get, and you can have access to that information for a fee. In many cases the recent selling prices of homes in your area are also listed in the local newspaper.
Once you have assembled all of that information, it is then time to put that information to practical use. If there are houses in your area for sale, then visit their open houses and see how those homes look inside and out. Find out what the asking price for the house is, and then compare the asking price and quality of the home to your home. While it is important to price your home within the range of the other homes in your area, it is also not out of the question to ask a little more for a home that you feel is worth a little more than the other homes around you.
Start high, and be prepared to haggle. Always come to a price you are comfortable with, and then add ten percent to that price. When you set your original price, be sure you are allowing enough for closing costs and paying off the existing mortgage. Your closing costs and existing mortgage should act as the lowest price you will accept. Always try to make at least ten to twenty percent over the lowest price you will accept to try and make a profit for yourself.