What Is My Portland Home Worth in This Market? How Pricing Actually Works
Pricing a home is the most consequential decision in the entire selling process, and it is also the decision that gets made with the least information by most sellers. I want to change that.
Here is how pricing actually works and why it matters more than anything else you do before you list.
The market does not care what you need from the sale. I say this kindly but directly because I see sellers anchor on a number driven by what they need to make a move work or pay off a loan. The market is going to reflect what it will bear regardless of your personal math. Starting from a number based on your needs rather than the data is the most common reason homes sit on the market and eventually sell for less than they would have with a correct price from the start.
Overpricing has a cost that is often larger than the premium you were hoping to capture. In Portland, homes that sit for more than two or three weeks in most price ranges start to develop a stigma. Buyers assume something is wrong. Showings drop off. Offers, when they eventually come, are lower because buyers sense they have leverage. Price reductions then signal weakness to the market. The end result is almost always a lower sale price than a correctly priced home would have fetched on day one.
Correct pricing creates competition. Competition drives price up. I have seen correctly priced homes sell for more than they would have if listed at that same higher number to begin with, because the competitive dynamic pushed buyers to stretch.
My pricing analysis involves the most recent and most comparable sales in your specific neighborhood, careful adjustments for condition and features, and a clear-eyed look at what competing homes buyers are choosing between right now.
I am direct with my sellers about what the market will support. That directness is not always the most comfortable thing in the moment, but it is what creates results. If you are thinking about selling and want a real pricing conversation, I am ready for it.
If you are thinking about selling and want a real pricing conversation, I am ready for it. Let's talk.
Alison Derse | REAL Broker Portland | 503.748.9818 | Alison@AlisonPDX.com | alisonpdx.com
