Home value is the probably biggest question on the minds of homeowners let alone sellers. Finding value Fayetteville NC homes is relatively easy when you have access to the right information as local agents and appraisers do. But I've still seen some really pros blow it. Why you may ask? Probably because of a lack of understanding of the data and emotional attachment to the outcome.

The Data- When agents go through the licensing courses they are taught to do what's called a comparable market analysis or CMA. The idea is to find 3 similar properties that have recently sold, wieght the properties and average the prices to find market a value. Some of my fellow agents will say it's not an average because that is what we were taught in class. But it really is, the difference is that it's a weighted average because we give more weight to the properties most like the subject property.

It should be that way but here is where the problems occur.

Emotion- There may be 10 good comparable sales available, which 3 get chosen? The 3 highest priced? The 3 lowest priced? The 3 favorite comparables maybe? Because the agent wants to impress the seller and bring in a high price on the CMA  lets say the 3 highest comps are used. The listing could be overpriced 5% or more. During a buyers market this could be the opposite of what's needed, bad move.

It's always best to listen to the market. If you have 10 good comps use them all to figure the market value. Of course remove any distressed sales like foreclosures or a home that is priced exceedingly high or low. Check to see what properties like the subject are listed for and use that figure to influence the comparable sales data up or down.

Lastly determine what the list to sale  price ratio is. In other words, if homes in the local market are selling for 98% of list price you can add1.5-2% to the comparable sales data price. This is something a traditional CMA does not take into consideration but is very relevant.

In a nutshell Fayetteville NC home pricing, like other markets, is primarily determined by recent sales data. But choosing what data to use and actually listening to the market are the keys to proper pricing strategy.