Real estate agents use comparable sales or “comps” (properties recently sold in the area) to see what the market bears for a listing price or value range marketing. But what makes a home a good comp? A few things must line up in order for the agent to utilize the comp to justify your listing price. The same neighborhood, school district, similar street and, of course, similar housing features and size. If these...

  When you and your REALTOR® sit down to price your home, you’ll be looking at competitive homes that are the most similar in size, location and amenities as your home. You may find that prices can be thousands of dollars higher or lower. It’s tempting to pick the highest price and say, “Let’s list it here.” But what if your home doesn’t sell at that price? High prices are a strategy that can work in an...

      Buying real estate is one of the most complex undertakings of your life. Success is much easier to live with than failure, so decide from the start what “success” means to you in terms of purchasing real estate. Then, be prepared to learn everything necessary to achieve it. Savvy buyers take two approaches when preparing to excel at buying real estate, especially in hot markets and sought-after neighborhoods: 1....

    No matter how intensely you prepare for moving day, you may still face problems if you overlook three sanity-defeating challenges. Can you and your partner really think clearly when swamped by distractions, exhaustion, and disorientation? If the ramped-up activity of moving day represents less pressure than a typical day for you, you’ll probably find your upcoming move-in day a breeze. Most people do not regularly handle...

Home price gains are slowing, credit is thawing and more first-time buyers may be hitting the real estate market in 2015. Better balance in the housing sector is “in” next year, as far as trends go. That’s likely to put buyers and sellers on a more even footing. Some prospective sellers sound especially bullish on housing. In a recent Trulia survey, the biggest chunk of consumers – 36% – said they expect next year to be much...