Teresa Sartin is a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty working in The Woodlands, Texas area.

Every week, we ask a real estate professional for their Short List, a collection of tips and recommendations on an essential topic in real estate. This week, we talked with Teresa Sartin, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty. She shared with us her tips on how the pros price their listings appropriately. 

4. The biggest issue that we have is getting the true square footage of a property.  Our team does not rely on the tax records, seller, or builder because they are usually incorrect. So if buyers don’t have their appraisal of when they purchased the property, we hire a licensed appraiser to measure to get the square footage.  I feel much more confident having the appraised drawing to prevent my seller from losing money if their home is larger or having value issues because their home is smaller.   We do not get dollar for dollar on square foot sold, but we use that as a basis. The subject property price must be bracketed with one that is sold higher and one that is lower.  We also try to bracket the square footage with a smaller comp and a lower comp and then you can justify a higher price per square foot.

3. With homes selling so quickly we are going back three months on sales rather than six months.  Prices usually start to rise in the spring and summer months, and the values right now are appreciating so quickly with the low inventory that it is best to get the most current sales.

2. Obtaining comps within the specific neighborhood is a must.  Knowing what distance you can go to get comps is imperative to correct pricing.  It differs in urban, suburban, and rural properties knowing those parameters are a necessity in pricing correctly

1. We meet the appraisers with every bit of information that we feel is necessary in order for him to be informed of our pricing: contracts, third party financing, surveys, disclosures, square foot measurements, a list of upgrades, and our comps used.

Teresa Sartin is a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty who’s industry knowledge and keen eye for listings has helped her attain great success and recognition, which includes her recent induction into the Keller Williams Hall of Fame.