How I price a home in Hudson County (and why I will not give you a number on the phone)

The first question every seller asks is "what is it worth?" and the honest answer is "I do not know yet." Anyone who gives you a number on the phone is guessing, and usually guessing high to win the listing. Here is what a real answer takes, and it takes about a day.

The comparable sales that count

I start with what actually closed, not what is asking. Same building if there is one, then the same block, then the same kind of home within a few streets, all within the last few months. Listings still on the market tell me what sellers hope; closed sales tell me what buyers paid. The difference between those two numbers is the whole job.

The ones that do not

A renovated unit is not a comp for an original one. A top floor with a view is not a comp for the second floor over the loading dock. A two-family with a legal rental unit is not a comp for one with a basement "apartment" that the city does not know about. Online estimates cannot see any of that; they average everything in the zip code and hand you a number with a straight face.

The condition of the building, not just the unit

In a condo, the association's finances are part of the price. A building with a healthy reserve and no assessment on the horizon sells for more than the same unit in a building that is about to charge every owner for a new roof. Buyers' attorneys read the minutes; so do I, before I price.

The three-scenario pricing

I do not hand you one number. I show you three: a price that should bring multiple offers in the first weekend, a price that sells in a normal few weeks, and a price that will sit. Then we talk about your timeline and choose. Sellers who pick the third one "to leave room to negotiate" usually end up below the first one, after a price cut, because the market can smell a listing that has been sitting.

What you get

Within a day of seeing the home you get the comps, the three scenarios, and a launch plan: photography, staging advice, timing. One reply from me, no drip campaign. If you decide not to sell, you still have the numbers.