Every seller wants as much money as they can get for their property.

But they have to remember, that a property is only worth what the market will give you.

I like to promote a realistic price range strategy with my sellers. I sometimes will recommend a price, but often times I will give them a price range to work with.

As REALTORS® we can give a recommendation, but when it comes down to it, it is the SELLER’S decision what they want to price it at. Plus, as much as people shop for price, they also shop with emotion. And sometimes, you might have a buyer willing to pay more than you thought, simply because it is the PERFECT house for them.

That is why I encourage the price range strategy.

I met with a seller about listing his home, and recommended him to price it at $399,000.

People tend to shop for houses in $25k increments. So, a property priced at $399k, will get more activity than a property priced at $415k.

Of course, he wanted as much money as possible, so I said that I would recommend listing it between $399k and $425k. Any higher than that, and we would look overpriced.

My seller wanted to start at $425,000. Even though I gave my seller a price range, I make sure that we are working that price point. If we are not getting enough activity or poor feedback, we are talking about it.

We got activity, averaging two showings a week. But no offers.

After two weeks, we lowered it to $415k. We averaged three showings a week, but still no offers.

Three weeks later, we lowered it to $405k. We had two showings in a week come by, and still no offers. My seller asked what we had to do to get a contract? (I am sure you know my answer.)

We dropped the price to $399k and we had five showings in three days, with three offers. Two of the offers were low, so we we negotiated with the third offer, and settled at $390k.

I believe that it is always worth a try, going a bit higher than you want, just to see what happens.

However, it is a trial period, and if you aren’t getting what you want, you need to get to the right price. But what is the right price? The right price is where buyers perceive value. Sure, we were getting activity when we had it in the low $400s. But, we weren’t getting offers, and that is your ultimate goal.

So, if you want to go for a higher asking price, sure, try it. But you better be watching and analyzing the activity, and reacting accordingly.