How Can You Find the Best Price To List Your Seller’s Home?

By Tricia Turner

Tricia Turner, a seasoned real estate broker from Houston, has over 25 years of diverse industry experience, including home sales and mortgage services. She is renowned for her leadership and training expertise, guiding over 50 agents at REAL Brokerage toward a $100 million sales goal.

How do you determine the right pricing for your or future clients’ homes? I’ve been working with Houston clients for 20 years and am a local real estate expert.

If you’re like me, who’s keeping an eye on the market, you’ll know the market is inconsistent. In some areas, homes are sold within 24 hours, attracting multiple offers over the asking price. But let’s be real: that’s not the situation everywhere. Home sales dropped by as much as 60% in many regions, and we might even see one of the lower transaction counts in decades this year. This brings us to the question: how do we set the right price for a home in this unpredictable market? Here are three things you need to consider:

1. Future-proof your price. The last thing you want to do is price a home too high. If your home is overpriced, you may sit on the market and receive no offers. According to NAR, if a home has been on the market for 14 days without a showing, or if there have been 10 showings without an offer, it’s likely overpriced.

Chasing the market with price reductions never looks good. A price adjustment can signal to buyers that you’re desperate to sell, which can lead to lower offers. So when pricing a home, ask yourself: what is the market likely to do? Do I need to price this home at market value? There’s a right strategy for that, but coming up with market value is number one.

2. Be the expert your clients need. As a real estate expert, your clients expect you to have authority and confidence. Know the market trends: is it appreciating, depreciating, or flatlining? These things matter. Always be kind to your clients and be clear about your expertise. If you’re newer to the field, consider bringing a mentor or coach along to reinforce your position.

If clients are adamant about a specific price, negotiate a trial period. Agree to a built-in price reduction after 14 days if no offers come in, and have this in writing to avoid pushback later.

3. Know the clients you’re working with. The last thing you want to do is take on a listing with a difficult client. You invest thousands in physical and virtual staging, photography, and marketing. The last thing you want is to get on the market with a seller who is hard to work with, leading to a failed sale because you aren’t on the same page. So, know who you’re working with from the start in that listing presentation.

Be comfortable with these presentations and master them. You must be the authority and the market expert. Your clients pay you to be the expert, so get in there, get that listing, price it right, and get it sold.

If you don’t know how to do these things, or if you’re uncomfortable getting top dollar for your home or learning how to sell these homes, definitely reach out to me. I coach people constantly on listings and how to determine value. You can call me at (832) 563-0916, send an email to tricia@triciaturnerproperties.com, or schedule an appointment at calltriciaturner.com. We have a monthly training called “Thrive to Success.” I’d love to see you there.