Where to start the price when you sell your home

When you decide to sell, the first question is the price. And inside that figure there is a lot that is yours: what you paid, the work you have done, the offer you turned down years ago, what you would need for your next step. It matters, to you. Buyers do not see it.

That is why the asking price cannot be worked out from what you spent or what you would like. It starts from the home as it is today and from the properties that buyers see as comparable. That is where a valuation that can be explained comes from.

Know the home before the figures

Floor area and town are not enough to say that two homes are worth the same. The exact location, the layout, the floor, the lift, the condition and the outbuildings all make a difference. So do the state of the building and any condominium issues, which weigh on anyone deciding how much to commit.

Before thinking about the price, it is worth gathering this information and separating what is documented from what still needs checking.

Asking prices and sale prices are not the same thing

Listings of similar homes show what is on the market, but they are asking prices: on their own they do not say at what figure sales were actually closed. A listing, a local property value and a documented sale are not interchangeable: they answer different questions.

An honest comparison says what differences there are between the properties and what kind of data it is using.

What local property values tell you

The Property Market Observatory of the Italian Revenue Agency publishes value ranges by area and property type, for a given period. They are a good reference for context. The Agency itself warns, however, that they are “very broad indications of value” and do not replace the specific valuation of an individual property.

Multiplying the square metres by an area figure, therefore, is not enough to explain the price of a home.

Agreeing the price to start from

You should be able to discuss the valuation. Which features were taken into account? Which comparisons are really relevant? What sets your home apart, and what limits might weigh on interest?

The asking price comes out of this discussion, taking into account what you want to achieve and the information available. It needs reasons that can be understood, not least to make sense of what happens next.

After publication: reading the responses

Keep track of enquiries, the questions raised during viewings and the offers. Views tell you part of the interest, but they are not the same as people ready to buy. If the responses are not what you hoped, there is more than one thing to look at: the presentation, how complete the information is, where the listing can be seen, and the price. The lack of an offer, on its own, does not tell you which of the four to change.

Changing the price, but for a reason

A price review needs a reason: new relevant comparisons, a better knowledge of the home, what has emerged during the sale. A written valuation and regular discussion with the studio are there for this, to make the choices understandable without turning a starting figure into a promise about the result.

If you would like a valuation of your home, ask for a site visit: we give you a written valuation, and the price is decided together.