The Appraiser’s Edge for Home Sellers

Know Where Your Home Fits Before You Set the Price

One of the most important decisions a seller makes happens before the property ever goes on the market:

What should we ask for it?

The answer should involve more than looking at a few nearby listings or choosing the price you hope to receive.

I’m Tom Dunphy Realtor with Fulton Grace Realty, and I’m also Thomas J. Dunphy III, State-Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser RD8755.

My appraisal background gives me another way to approach the listing process: analyze the property and its competitive market first, then develop the pricing and marketing strategy.

It Starts With Your Property

Before concentrating on price, I want to understand exactly what we are selling.

That includes the property's size, condition, quality, site, location, design, improvements, renovations, pool, garage, view, waterfront characteristics and other features that buyers may consider.

Two houses in the same neighborhood can be very different properties.

Two condominium units in the same building can be very different properties.

That is why the analysis needs to begin with your specific property.

Then I Analyze the Competition

Next, I look at the market from an appraiser's perspective.

That includes the settled sales that provide evidence of what buyers have actually paid, but it also includes the properties currently competing for those same buyers.

I want to know:

What has sold? What is currently available? How long is it taking properties to sell? How much inventory is available? What are buyers currently choosing? And where does your property fit within that competition?

Those questions help us develop a supported pricing range.

Price Is Part of the Marketing Strategy

Putting a property on the market does not automatically create its value.

Buyers compare it with everything else available to them.

If the property is positioned appropriately, we have an opportunity to attract attention while the listing is new to the market.

If the initial asking price is unsupported, the property can begin accumulating market time while competing properties sell.

Then the conversation can change.

Buyers may start asking:

Why hasn't it sold? Why has the price been reduced? Is something wrong with the property? How motivated is the seller?

Now the seller can find themselves reacting to the market instead of controlling the initial presentation.

I would rather put my sellers on offense from the beginning instead of on defense later.

Your Property May Be Different — And That Matters

Market statistics tell us what is happening across a broader market. They do not tell us exactly what an individual property is worth.

Your home may have characteristics that distinguish it from surrounding competition.

A particular view, site, renovation, floor plan, pool, waterfront location, condition, quality or other feature may influence how buyers respond to it.

That is why I don't want to take a citywide median sale price and simply apply it to your home.

We analyze the property that we are actually selling.

Then We Take It to Market

Once we understand the property, its competition and the supported pricing range, we can make an informed decision about how we want to position it.

From there, we watch the market.

Showings, buyer feedback, competing listings, new contracts and subsequent sales can provide additional information after the property is listed.

The market speaks.

Our job is to listen to it and respond intelligently.

The Appraiser’s Edge

Before putting a home on the market, sellers usually want to know:

“What should I list my house for?”

My answer starts with another question:

“What does the market support?”

That is where my experience as both a Realtor and a State-Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser comes into the process.

Analyze first. Develop the strategy. Then take the property to market.

THE APPRAISER’S EDGE. THE RELOCATOR’S INSIGHT.

Tom Dunphy Sells Real Estate. Just Does More.

Disclosure

The information provided on these pages is for general informational and educational purposes and is not an appraisal, broker price opinion, mortgage or financial advice, or a guarantee of a property's value, purchase price, sale price, or future market performance. Any analysis performed as part of real estate brokerage services is provided to assist buyers or sellers in making informed real estate decisions and should not be represented or relied upon as an appraisal. A formal appraisal is a separate professional service performed under an applicable appraisal engagement and scope of work.

Tom Dunphy Realtor (Fulton Grace Realty)
Licensed Florida Real Estate Sales Associate

Thomas J. Dunphy III
State-Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser RD8755
APPRAIS