How to gather comparable sales, review online estimates, and organize information about the home's condition and local market. Keighbor doesn't recommend a list price.
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Before you list · 5 steps · free · the same words a Keighbor seller reads
Why this page existsThe price is the one decision every other piece of the sale depends on.
Key takeaways
You have a written list of three to six sold comps.
You have a valuation range from at least two independent sources.
You have adjusted your comp baseline up or down, and you can say why.
You have a short do list and a longer skip list.
You have a list price and a private walk-away number, both written down.
1
Look at what nearby homes sold for
You're done when: You have a written list of three to six sold comps.
Comparable sales are recently sold homes with relevant similarities, such as location, size, and age. They show recorded sale prices and can help you understand the local market. Keighbor organizes the information but doesn't recommend a list price.
How to do it
Open Zillow, Redfin, or Realtor.com and filter to Sold rather than For Sale. Set the timeframe to the last three to six months.
Draw a search radius of roughly a quarter to half a mile around your home.
Filter to the same number of beds and baths, similar square footage within about 20%, and a similar style and age.
Aim for three to six comparable sales. Note the sold price, the days on market, and any obvious differences: a renovated kitchen, an extra garage, a better lot.
Cross-check against your county's official records. Most counties have a free online lookup, and the assessor's office can help if the records are not clear.
Worth knowing
Active listings show what sellers are asking. Closed sales show what buyers paid. Big difference.
In non-disclosure states like Texas, sold prices on the portals are thin. County assessor trends and a paid appraisal are more reliable there.
Two very recent sales outrank six from last year.
If comps are hard to pin down, a pre-listing appraisal runs $300 to $600.
What it costs
Free, or $300-600 for a pre-listing appraisal if comps are thin
Where to check
Your county recorder or assessor's own records
2
Check some online values
You're done when: You have a valuation range from at least two independent sources.
Automated valuations are a decent starting point but they are not gospel. Redfin's own methodology puts its median error at about 2% for homes on the market and about 7% for homes that are not.
How to do it
Look up your address on Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com. Write down each number.
Note the range rather than a midpoint - $412k to $438k, not $425k.
Compare that range to what your own comps suggest.
If they cluster together, that is one data point in your favor. If they diverge by 10% or more, an algorithm has probably missed a renovation, used a bad comp, or overlooked a lot-size difference.
For an unusual home - a unique lot, a custom build, a non-disclosure state - a pre-listing appraisal gives you a real professional valuation.
Worth knowing
Algorithms do not know about your recent renovations. You can adjust up for work they cannot see.
An automated estimate is not a valuation and no lender will treat it as one.
Three sources that disagree is information, not a problem.
What it costs
Free, or $300-600 for a pre-listing appraisal
Where to check
A licensed appraiser, if the range is too wide to work with
3
Take a look at the bigger picture
You're done when: You have adjusted your comp baseline up or down, and you can say why.
Two identical floor plans can sell for very different prices depending on how the home shows and whether the local market is hot or slow. Your comp number is a baseline; you adjust from there.
How to do it
Rate your home against the sold comps: dated, average, updated, or renovated. Be honest.
Check current local conditions. Redfin's Data Center or a search for "[your city] real estate market" gets you months of supply, average days on market, and the sale-to-list ratio.
In a seller's market - low inventory, homes going in under three weeks, sales above list - sellers often adjust up.
In a buyer's market - three or more months of supply, price cuts common - sellers often adjust down.
Think about the brackets buyers search in. $399,900 shows up in a search for "under $400k". $402,000 does not.
Worth knowing
Days on market is real-time feedback on your local market. Watch it.
Condition adjustments are usually bigger than sellers first estimate.
Homes selling at or above list averaged just two weeks on market in 2025; homes needing a price cut averaged ten weeks or more (NAR).
What it costs
Free
Where to check
Redfin's Data Center for your city, or your county's own sales trends
4
Think about what you have put in
You're done when: You have a short do list and a longer skip list.
Exterior and low-cost projects tend to return the most. Per Zonda's 2025 Cost vs. Value Report, a garage door replacement recoups about 268% of its cost and a steel entry door about 216%, while larger interior remodels usually return less than they cost.
How to do it
Walk your home and list every visible flaw: peeling paint, worn carpet, dated hardware, scuffed doors.
Sort them into three buckets: needed for basic safety and appearance, high-return curb appeal, and nice-to-have.
Decide which buckets you are actually going to tackle.
If a major system like the roof or HVAC is at end of life, get quotes. Some sellers replace it, others price it in and let the buyer choose.
Anchor your price to sold comps that match the condition tier you will actually be in.
Worth knowing
Renovations do not reliably add their full cost back. Buyers pay for a home that shows well.
Over-improving for the neighborhood is a real risk. Comps set a range regardless of what you put in.
The four that consistently return well are curb appeal, paint, the garage door, and the front entry.
What it costs
Varies. The high-return projects are usually the cheap ones
Where to check
Zonda's Cost vs. Value Report for your region
5
Pick your number
You're done when: You have a list price and a private walk-away number, both written down.
This is the moment you commit to the number that drives your first two weeks of traffic, which is usually the highest-traffic window of the whole listing.
How to do it
Combine your comps, your valuation range, and your condition and market adjustments into a target number.
Round to a search-bracket-friendly price: $399,900 rather than $402,000.
Pick a strategy: slightly below market to invite competition, at market, or slightly above with room to negotiate. Each carries different trade-offs.
Write down your walk-away number - the lowest price you would accept - and keep it private.
Note the date you will revisit the price if things go quiet. Many sellers revisit at 14 to 21 days from going live.
Worth knowing
Your walk-away number is for you and anyone else on the deed. Sharing it with a buyer turns it into the ceiling.
Your mortgage balance is not an input to market value. What you owe does not change what buyers will pay.
Price reductions signal weakness. A slightly conservative start rarely does.
Run the room's calculator on your target price before you commit to it.
What it costs
Free
Where to check
Your own pricing worksheet, kept with the listing
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Every step of a home sale has a guide this long behind it. Your room opens them one at a time as you reach them, and whatever you work out gets saved into the step.
