Pricing strategies...
Blinded by love, Sol Linero, wsj.com
Pricing Your Home to Sell
What's the best way to price your home for sale?
Nobody actually knows, Alina Dizik reports on wsj.com, as she covers a number of options people often try.
In residential real estate, the asking price is often as much about psychology as it is reality, she writes.
Michael Seiler, professor of real estate and finance at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., said that most home buyers don't realize that setting an asking price is primarily a negotiating tactic.
"When you set a list price, you're sending a signal to the market," he says.
Mike McCann, a real-estate agent with Berkshire HathawayKB in 
Your Value Your Change Short posi in Philadelphia, says pricing can be "a delicate balance."
Most sellers overestimate the worth of their home, he says, and some agents will start with a too-high price to avoid hard feelings. Others agents may start high just to get the seller's business or, conversely, they'll price too low for a quick sale and commission, he says.
Most agents say that getting sellers to start with a realistic asking price is one of their biggest challenges, Dizik reports.
