Pricing your property to sell: not too high, not too low

Price against transactions, not listings

The most common pricing mistake is anchoring to other asking prices. Asking prices are wishes - they include every seller's optimism, and many of those units will not sell at those numbers. What a buyer will actually pay is shown by transacted prices: the figures at which comparable properties have genuinely changed hands. Price against those.

What makes a fair comparable

A useful comparable is genuinely similar to your property:

• Same development or area.
• Similar size and layout.
• Similar floor and facing, for a condo.
• Similar condition and renovation.
• Similar tenure and remaining lease.

The closer the match, the more weight a comparable deserves. Adjust honestly for the differences - a higher floor, a better facing, a longer lease or a recent renovation are worth something, but be realistic about how much.

The cost of overpricing

Overpricing feels safe - you can always come down. In practice it is the more expensive mistake. An overpriced listing attracts few viewings, sits on the market, and goes stale. Buyers notice how long a unit has been listed and read a stale listing as a sign of a problem. Owners who overprice often end up selling below what a sensible price would have achieved, and later than they wanted to.

The cost of underpricing

Underpricing has the opposite cost: the property sells quickly, but for less than it was worth. A flurry of interest can feel like success while leaving real money on the table.

The role of valuation

A professional valuation, and a buyer's bank valuation, are useful reference points. For a condo with many comparables, valuation is fairly tight. For landed homes and shophouses, where comparables are scarce, a professional valuation carries more weight. Where a buyer's loan depends on valuation, a price far above valuation simply creates a cash gap that can break the deal.

Leaving room to negotiate

A sensible asking price sits a little above your genuine target, leaving a modest, realistic margin for negotiation - not a large cushion that scares buyers off. The aim is a price that draws genuine interest and lands, after negotiation, close to fair value.

The honest summary

Price against transacted prices, not other people's asking prices; choose genuinely comparable properties and adjust honestly for the differences; and respect that overpricing usually costs more, in the end, than pricing realistically. A licensed salesperson and a professional valuation can anchor the number - but the discipline is the same: price to reality, not to hope.