Article 3 · 9 min read
Pricing your home right
Comps, pricing psychology, and how to avoid the two worst mistakes.
The right price is the one three recent, nearby, comparable homes sold for — not what Zillow says, and not what you need to clear your mortgage.
01Pull your three comps
Open Zillow, Redfin, and your county assessor's site. Find three homes that all meet these filters:
Sold in the last 90 days (not listed, not pending — sold). Within 0.5 miles of yours. Within 10% of your square footage. Same bed/bath count, ±1.
If you can't find three, widen one filter at a time — usually distance before time, never beyond 180 days.
02Adjust for differences
Your home isn't identical to the comps. For each comp, add or subtract value for the differences. Updated kitchen = +$8–15k. Finished basement = +$20–40k. Busy street = -$10–20k. Smaller lot = -$5–15k.
After you adjust, take the median of the three — not the average. Median shrugs off one weird outlier.
03Pick a price that ends in an odd number
$434,900 tests better than $435,000 because it lands in the $425–435k Zillow bucket. $449,900 appears in searches capped at $450k.
Price at the top of your band — not above it. You can drop in two weeks, you can't quietly raise.
Checklist
- Pulled 3 sold comps in the last 90 days
- Adjusted for square footage, bed/bath, condition
- Picked a price at the top of the narrow band
- Plan to re-price if no offers in 14 days
Want help applying this to your house?
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