Setting Your Price

Laguna Beach home buyers often make their initial assessments based on home prices. But anyone who's sold a home knows that pricing can be tricky: set it too low and you'll be on the losing end, but set it too high and no one will even look twice at it.

The first rule in setting your home price is to think as a buyer. If you were buying your home now, would you really want to pay as much as you're charging?

That's why you need a real estate agent. A competent agent can give you a balanced, fact-based opinion on how much your home is worth in today's market. LagunaOC.com agents have worked with Laguna Beach real estate for a long time, so we know what really the price of a home. With the right professionals, you can reach a number that will attract potential buyers and still be profitable.

The Market Factor

Most of the factors affecting your selling price have to do with the Laguna Beach real estate market itself, not what you paid for it yourself. These include:

• Recent sale prices: What was the average selling price for Laguna Beach homes in the last few months? How much did homes like yours sell for in the same period? Have they gone up, down, or stayed the same?
• Supply and demand: How many homes are currently in the Laguna Beach real estate market? How many of them are the same property type as yours?
• Market time: How much time does a home stay on the listings before being bought?

Getting Your Facts

There are two main ways to get market information for Laguna Beach homes. The most common is the comparative market analysis (CMA), which your agent will usually provide. The CMA basically offers a snapshot of the current market from which you will base your price. A typical CMA details recent home sales, homes currently for sale, and homes that were on the market but failed to sell.

An appraisal is a smaller document limited to past successful sales, and usually needs to be paid for. In most cases, the CMA should be enough to draw up a selling price. However, an appraisal may come in handy for homes that are harder to price. Some reasons you may need an appraisal are:

• Lack of market activity. If no homes have been sold in your area in the last few months, there won't be much information for the CMA to draw from.
• Unusual properties. Some homes fall under different property types, or are unique to a given area (for example, a single-family home in a condo community).
• Ownership issues. Homes that are co-owned will need a consensus between the owners before a final price can be set. If the owners cannot agree on a price, the agent may recommend a formal appraisal.

Asking Vs. Selling Price

The terms “asking price” and “selling price” are commonly confused in the market. Buyers' agents tend to consider the asking price negotiable, so using it is like saying you're willing to settle for less. If you don't want to deal with aggressive negotiators, use a stronger term such as “offered at.”