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BUSINESS NEWS - So you've decided to sell your home and move elsewhere, perhaps to another suburb or town, or perhaps just to a bigger or smaller place in the same area.

But before you can carry out your plan, you have to market your home and find a buyer - and in order to do that, you have to put a price tag on it.

And this is the exact point at which a lot of home sellers come unstuck, because they don't understand that potential buyers actually don't value certain improvements that you've made to your home, like the new kitchen flooring it took so long to find, or even the swimming pool you put in last summer, even if you think they should.

"It's important to remember that prospective buyers have no emotional attachment to your home - yet - so all they care about is that it is situated in the area they prefer, that it is well-maintained and in good condition and, most of all, that it is well-priced in their estimation," says Charles de Kock, principal of Chas Everitt Southern Cape.

"In short, price is king and at the end of the day, your asking or initial price will be the number one factor that determines the amount of buyer interest in your home and how long it will take to sell."

Setting the asking price too high, he explains, will reduce the number of prospective buyers who are interested in even taking a look at the property because they will immediately see it as being too expensive for the area. 

"Buyers tend to look at a lot of home listings online now and do some 'comparison shopping' before they set out to view a few selected properties," he says. "They are well aware of what they can get for their money, and if they regard your home as being overpriced or above current market value for the area, they will simply ignore it.

"Sadly, the property is then very likely to 'stick' in the market until it eventually only attracts speculators who think they can offer you even less than it is actually worth because you are probably desperate by now."

On the other hand, if you set the asking price too low, you may well attract many prospective buyers all eager to sign an offer to purchase right away - but you will probably lose out financially, says De Kock.

"This shows how important it is to take emotion out of the picture and price correctly, right from the start, with the help of a qualified and experienced agent who really knows your local market."

• Get a comparative market analysis (CMA). "Ask your agent for a detailed CMA that compares your house with similar properties that have recently been sold in the area and also gives you their initial asking prices, their eventual sold prices and time on market, which is how long it took them to sell. This will enable you to see the price level at which homes like yours are selling fastest, and work with your agent to set an asking price as close to that as possible," he says.

• Be fair when you compare your home to others that are currently for sale in your area. For example, the age of a property often comes into consideration when buyers are looking in your area because it can affect the condition. "Buyers generally expect to pay more for brand-new homes, so you probably can't expect to get as much for your 20-year-old house as people have recently paid in that new development down the road - even if the homes there are similar to yours in size and layout."

• Consider the market. De Kock says that in addition to a CMA, you also need current information from your agent about local supply and demand - that is, how many homes there are for sale in competition with yours, and whether there is currently high, medium or low demand from buyers. "The CMA may show, for example, that similar homes to yours were initially listed at higher prices than you have in mind - but that they were then on the market for a very long time and finally sold for much less than expected. Alternatively, if there is currently high demand for homes in your area and a shortage of supply, you may feel justified in setting a slightly higher asking price."

• Be realistic about those improvements. "If you've recently renovated the bathrooms and repainted the whole house, you may feel justified in increasing your asking price somewhat. But be aware that you are very unlikely to recoup the whole cost of any improvement when you sell - especially the really pricey ones like adding on a room or putting in a new kitchen. These alterations could well make your home more appealing to prospective buyers and help you to sell faster, but they are unlikely to make much difference to the market value."

For more information or assistance with pricing your home, give Chas Everitt Southern Cape a call on 028 514 2202 or 044 690 3054, and their operators will put you in touch with an agent to assist you.

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