Determining the right selling price for your property is quite a challenge: as an owner, you may not make an objective assessment of your property. Do not forget that the listed price of a property is of capital importance! Too high a price will keep potential buyers away, and if it remains too long on the market, it could suggest major problems related to the state of your home.

So how should you go about it?

1. Avoid relying on the municipal assessment
As this information is simple and accessible, it may be tempting to use it. A municipal assessment is made by an appraiser responsible for thousands of properties, and most of the time, he does not visit them. Consequently, this value is far from being precise.

The municipal assessment is primarily used to establish property taxes. It does not guarantee the true market value of a property.

2. Study market conditions
The first step is to analyze market conditions. This means comparing your property with similar homes recently sold in your area and looking for the closest similarities (surface area, lot, type of property, number of floors, rooms, and washrooms, year of construction, etc.). It is important to rely on the actual selling price rather than the price listed on various search engines, since this information can vary considerably.

3. Call upon professionals
Even with an in-depth study of market conditions, there are a number of important indicators that only professionals in the field are able to analyze.

The chartered appraiser
Subject to the Order of Chartered Appraisers of Quebec (OEAQ), this professional has no vested interest in the transaction; he is compensated within the margin of the sale. Objective and professional, he will adjust the average fixed price by taking into account the renovations, general maintenance and assets specific to your home.

The real estate broker
In addition to assisting you throughout the selling process, the broker will take into consideration a number of important factors to get an even more accurate market value for your property, such as situations of succession or foreclosure, the selling time in your neighbourhood, and the history of natural disasters or illegal activities.

In short, determining the market value of your property is more complex than it would seem. Fortunately, your real estate broker has all the necessary tools to set a competitive, realistic and, more importantly, accurate price.

Sources :
– « Que vaut l’évaluation municipale », La Presse, 31 mars 2016
– Joueraucourtier.com (propulsé par Centris)
– « Établir le juste prix : une étape cruciale », centris.ca