Ready and qualified buyers are educated on home prices.

They may have been looking at homes longer and more consistently than you have. It's quite possible they've put in offers on other homes before yours came on the market. They've been frustrated and their determination is mounting.

These buyers are poised. They know what they want and don't need to waste time on what won't work. They see every new listing as it appears. A new house on the market gets the most attention from qualified buyers in the first two weeks it appears. If you price your home too high at the 'launch' you push away this educated, ready and motivated pool of buyers. You move out of the deep center of the buyer pool towards the thinning edges.

Effective listing agents use proven sales prices to sell homes.

We do this by investigating recent SOLD (not asking) prices in your neighborhood. Next we are fair in our comparison of the two houses from a buyer's perspective. We subtract from or add to the sold price based on valuable features.

Use sold properties from the past three months. They need to be similar to your home and in a location very comparable to yours. If not enough homes have been sold in the past three months go back six months.

If your selling by owner, you can get the data you need through Zillow. Do Not use the zestimate, as it often compares apples to oranges and is not reliably accurate. Getting your sales price right is too important to use a guess. You can see below how to select only SOLD properties.

Here you can narrow your search parameters to bring up properties most like yours:

Some homes might be similar to yours but with one significant difference. To find out what a pool, or a view, or a school district is worth to buyers in your area, find similar sold houses (size, age, features, condition) with that one important difference. The difference in sales price will give you a general idea of how the market values that item.

Trulia and many brokerage sites will send your home price inquiry to an agent who will want to list and sell your home. However, getting an agent's opinion may help you target the correct price range.