A good sale isn't the highest possible price — it's the highest price your home will actually close at, with the fewest fall-throughs along the way. This guide walks the moves that maximise both.
Key takeaways
- Price within 3% of recent comparable sales — overshooting is the #1 reason listings sit.
- Staging budget should land at 0.3–0.6% of asking price. Beyond that, returns flatten.
- Hire a professional photographer. Phone photos cost real money in lower offers.
- The best offer is rarely the highest — weigh certainty, conditions, and timeline.
Pricing your home
Price is set by three reference points: recent comparable sales, current active inventory, and the price-per-square-foot trend in your immediate neighborhood. Get all three before anchoring on a number.
The first-week pricing rule
Most viewings happen in the first ten days a property is listed. If you've had under three viewings by day seven, the asking price is too high — recut now, not after a month of dust gathering.
Prep and staging
The goal isn't to make your home look like a magazine — it's to remove anything that distracts a buyer from imagining themselves living there. Declutter aggressively, neutralise paint colours that read as personal, and replace any dead bulb in the house.
Photography and listing
Hire a professional. Wide-angle, daylight, and HDR processing are the table stakes. Drone shots for anything with a garden or a view. A floor plan with dimensions converts viewings at roughly double the rate of listings without one.
Viewings and offers
Group viewings (“open houses”) create urgency. Private viewings give serious buyers space to ask real questions. Run both. Have your realtor brief every viewer on the highest offer received so far — without naming the buyer.
Negotiating the sale
Counter-offers should move the conversation, not just the price. If a buyer offers low, counter with the asking price minus a small token plus a tighter closing date or a larger deposit. Make the seller's “yes” expensive in dimensions other than price.
Closing without surprises
Most fall-throughs happen between offer acceptance and closing — usually because of survey findings or finance conditions. Pre-list a basic survey yourself: it gives buyers a finding-free file and removes their main lever for renegotiation.
Pre-listing checklist
Estimate what your home will fetch.
Our index tracks median price and rent across your metro — use it to anchor a realistic ask.