This eternal pricing challenge is true more than ever now, in a market that still favors buyers....

FIRST -- It is imperative to price your home competitively (not too high). Over-pricing will often lead to significantly fewer showings, and lower levels of interest from buyers.

BUT -- In today's market, nearly every buyer will want to negotiate with you, not being satisfied with paying too close to asking price.

So what is a seller to do!?!

Let's suppose, for a moment, that your home is worth $250,000 based on recently sold properties.

Competitive pricing would mean pricing your home between $240k and $255k.  With elevated inventory levels, you must stand out on price, being seen as a good buying opportunity.  But then, when a buyer comes along, they'll likely want to negotiate you down $10k - $15k, or even more.

If you priced the home at $260k or $265k to leave yourself room to come down $10k to $15k to $250k you likely wouldn't have near the interest as compared to pricing the home at $249k.  But if you price the home at $249k, you certainly won't be excited about coming down to $239k or lower.

Suggestion #1 -- Use other "for sale" properties as a guideline.  If comparable properties are available for $240k-$249k, you'll need to price your home lower in the $249k range, but if comparable properties are priced between $260k and $270k, you can likely get away with a higher asking price, perhaps around $255k or $259k.

Suggestion #2 -- Price your home "just above" the value suggested by recently sold homes.  If that value is $250k, consider a price of $252,500 or $254,500, or something in that general range.

Pricing is always an essential component of marketing a home to sell --- and in a fluctuating market, it becomes even more difficult than usual!