08/29/2026
🏡 SELLING A HOME IN TODAY’S MARKET
I want to talk a little about selling a home — and most importantly, pricing it. No fancy real estate talk. Just the way I see it based on my own experience.
Every seller loves their home. ❤️
And almost every seller believes their home is the nicest, most beautiful, most special home in the neighborhood.
And you know what? I agree with you. You lived there. You loved it. You put your time, energy, care, and heart into it. To you, your home truly IS special.
But once we put that home on the market, there is another side of the equation — the buyer.
And as harsh as this may sound, buyers don't really care how much love, time, and emotion you put into your home.
Now, how much MONEY you invested — and WHERE you invested it — that's a different conversation.
Buyers notice an updated kitchen, renovated bathrooms, beautiful flooring instead of old carpet, a newer roof, HVAC, windows, landscaping, a pool, and other improvements.
Those things matter and can absolutely affect the appeal and value of a property.
But even then, we have to be realistic.
If you spent $50,000 remodeling your home, that doesn't automatically mean your home is now worth $50,000 more.
Your home may be priceless to you. But once we put it on the market, we have to determine what it's worth to TODAY'S buyer.
And today's market is very different from the market we had a few years ago.
Buyers have more choices, and they are taking advantage of those choices.
When I prepare a CMA — Comparative Market Analysis — for one of my sellers, I look much deeper than simply finding three houses nearby and looking at what they sold for. I can't speak for how other Realtors prepare their CMAs. I can only tell you how I do mine and what I look at for my clients.
I look at the most recent comparable sales and what's been happening in that particular market over the past few months.
I compare location, square footage, age, lot, floor plan, and overall condition. I look at the details.
Does the home have carpet or updated flooring? Hardwood or LVP? Has the kitchen been renovated? What about the bathrooms? Are they updated or original? Is there a pool? What improvements have been made? What is the condition and age of the roof, HVAC, and other major systems?
Because two homes can be on the same street, have almost identical square footage, and still not have the same market value.
To me, a CMA isn't simply:
“My neighbor's house sold for $400,000, so mine is worth $400,000.” It doesn't always work that way.
Sometimes, after doing all of my research, I'll tell a seller:
“You have a beautiful home, but today's market is showing me approximately $350,000.”
And sometimes I hear:
“No. My house is worth $400,000.”
Okay. 😊
It's your home. You can want $400,000, $500,000, or even a million dollars for it.
But then I ask one very simple question:
Do you want to LIST your home, or do you want to SELL it?
Because those are two very different things.
We can put any number we want into MLS.
But ultimately, the market will tell us whether anyone is willing to pay it.
Now let's say a miracle happens. 😁
A buyer comes along and says:
“Okay! I'll pay $400,000!”
Wonderful. But if that buyer is financing the purchase, the lender will send out an appraiser to determine the property's value for the bank.
And if that appraiser determines the home is worth $350,000, the bank isn't going to say:
"Well, the seller thinks it's worth $400,000, so let's lend based on $400,000."
Now we potentially have a $50,000 difference between the contract price and the appraised value.
What happens next?
The seller may agree to lower the price. The buyer may agree to bring additional cash to closing. The buyer and seller may negotiate somewhere in between. Or, depending on the financing and terms of the contract, the transaction may not move forward.
But again, let's be realistic.
If similar homes are available for $350,000–$360,000, how likely is today's buyer to pull another $40,000–$50,000 out of their pocket just to buy yours?
Probably not very likely.
Because buyers have choices.
They have a Realtor. They have the internet. They have Zillow.
And most importantly — they have other homes to choose from.
So when I tell my seller:
“Your home is beautiful, but today's market doesn't support a $400,000 price,”
I'm not trying to undervalue your home.
And I'm certainly not trying to convince you to give it away.
I'm simply telling you what I see based on today's market and my professional analysis.
Of course, the final decision on the listing price always belongs to the seller.
But my job as your Realtor isn't simply to agree with the number you WANT to hear.
My job is to give you the most realistic picture possible BEFORE we put your home on the market.
Because if the market supports around $350K and we list at $400K, we have to be prepared for that home to sit.
One month. Three months. Six months. Sometimes longer.
And then saying:
“My Realtor can't sell my house!”
isn't always fair. 😁
Sometimes the problem isn't the Realtor.
Sometimes we're simply trying to sell a home at a price today's market isn't willing to pay.
As a seller, you always have a choice.
If you don't HAVE to sell right now and your circumstances allow you to wait, you can wait for a different market.
But if you need to sell now, then we have to work with the market we actually have today — not the market we wish we had.
I always tell my clients:
I can list your home at the price you want. But my job as your Realtor is to honestly tell you what today's market is showing us and at what price we have a realistic chance of actually selling it.
Because my goal isn't simply to put your home in MLS.
My goal is to SELL it. 🏡❤️
And in my next post, I'll talk about another very important part of selling a home — how to properly prepare your home before it hits the market.
What is actually worth doing before you sell, what buyers notice, which improvements can make a difference, and where you may be wasting money unnecessarily.
The right price + the right preparation = a very strong start to a successful sale.
And if you're thinking about selling your home and wondering what it could realistically sell for in today's market, call or message me.
I'll be happy to look at your specific property, prepare a market analysis, and tell you what I'm seeing in your neighborhood.
Natalia Aslapovskaya, Realtor®
Skyline Realty
📞 916-706-8778
🏡 Buying • Selling • Leasing in DFW
English • Russian • Ukrainian
More to come… 😉🏡