How To Tell If A House Is Overpriced

Sometimes a house will be difficult to part with, especially when it’s filled with memories of the family and you spent a lot to make it match your taste. You subconsciously feel the house should be priced to reflect all of these.

Or perhaps you’re looking to buy a house and you’ve found one that is pretty much the house of your dreams, but you’re not sure if the price you’re being asked for is reasonable. This article is just for you.

Here are 4 tips to help you tell if your house is overpriced:

#1. The price difference between your house and the neighbors’ is outrageous

Every house has things that make it unique. It could be the architectural design or quality of building materials, but generally the prices of homes in a neighborhood should fall within a limited range. If a house goes for a price about $100,000 higher than others around it then it is very likely overpriced. Although such variations are not impossible, they are rather improbable.

To derive an approximate value for your house, a real estate agent has to complete a comparative market analysis.

#2. Your neighbors’ houses are selling and yours isn’t

It could be really annoying when surrounding houses are going off the market because they are getting sold and yours is not. There might not be any real problem with the house itself, but the price could be the problem. It is one thing if people can’t afford a house in the area but when they can but do not call you back then you know there is something wrong.

While comparing houses in the neighborhood for prices, you should remember that even though houses in a neighborhood will be expected to fall within a certain range, your neighbor’s house might have two extra rooms, might have just been renovated or have something special about it that justifies it being at the higher end of the range while yours falls a bit lower.

#3. Few or no showings

It’s normal to feel some excitement when you start advertising your house for sale, and you expect people to show up every day. That excitement turns to frustration when you get few or even no showings after a few weeks. This could mean your house is overpriced and you should consider adjusting the price to increase attention.

#4. You are still awaiting an offer

Normally you should receive an offer or more within the first two or three weeks. If a couple of months have gone by and you haven’t gotten an offer, this could mean your house is overpriced. Overpricing a house means it won’t sell or will take longer than normal to sell.
Just keep in mind that if you start off by overpricing your house, you might end up getting desperate and selling it for lower than you would have if you correctly priced it from the beginning.