Market decides if you set the right price for a house

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It's time for a confession: Every time a neighbor puts up a For Sale sign with an information tube, we're one of the first to pull a flier.

It's not that we're looking for homes for sale, we just want to see how much the neighbors are asking. Given expertise gained from too much time spent on Zillow.com, the real estate site, we feel we have a good idea what the price should be.

But there's always one that makes us say, "They're asking how much?"

A lot goes into setting a price for a home, and it's hard to take out personal factors ("We spent hours picking out that tile," "This pool is a sanctuary; it'll double our asking price"). But the reality is, "money is the driving force," says Heather Pourchot, a Realtor with Realty Executives in Clearwater, Fla.

Pourchot is an anomaly in this housing market: In the past two years, "we've had two of our best years because we have priced our properties right."

Comparable home sales are the main factor she uses in setting a price, and the more recent the sales, the better. Pourchot used to factor in sales from the past year; now she limits comparables to the past six months.

Pourchot and her client agree on a selling price, and the house goes on the market. "Once you've priced it and you have a lot of exposure, you'll know within the first three weeks if you've priced it right."

If you have no traffic, she says, you've priced it too high. Same goes for if you have a lot of traffic but no offers. Then you have a choice to make: Adjust the price or wait it out.

"It's hard to do," she says of setting a price, but "the market will talk to you, whether you're selling on your own or with a Realtor."

Even if you intend to sell your home yourself, bring in a Realtor or an appraiser to get a professional's idea of what the price should be, she suggests. "The worst thing you can do is over price your home."

Most Realtors offer a complimentary market evaluation with the hope that if you decide to list with an agent, they'll be your agent of choice.

Price is just half of the real estate equation, Pourchot says. The other half is exposure. You may have the right price on your home, but if would-be buyers don't know about it, you're not going to sell.

"The buyers are out there looking," she says, "and you don't want them to miss you."

If you know you want to sell in 2010, the time to put your house on the market is now, Pourchot says. You'll have time to listen to the economy and be positioned just right going into the new year.

"If you know you're going to sell," she says, "let the world know."

Janet K. Keeler can be reached at jkeeler(at)sptimes.com; B Buckberry Joyce can be reached at bbuckberry(at)sptimes.com.

Must credit St. Petersburg Times.