For most homeowners, listing their house for sale isn't a spur of the moment thing. People often think about selling their house for years before actually selling it.

Yet, given how much time and thought people tend to give it, many people don't do enough to prepare their house for sale (or prepare themselves for what's to come). They just get to a point where they decide it's time to sell and they pop a sign in the yard. This often leads to people not selling their house for as much, as quickly, or as smoothly as it could be, or at all.

Determining a fair market price is done by considering a number of factors: one of the most common methods used is called a CMA or Comparative Market Analysis. The jargon might be confusing, so think of the market analysis as a report of activity, activity that is based upon the law of supply and demand. The CMA may use up to 4 categories of housing data to determine price. Homes in all 4 categories will be compared to yours using factors such as location, size, condition, style, number of rooms, and features.

The 4 categories of housing data are:

RECENT SALES

This represents the prices buyers have actually been willing to pay for a home in your current market. If possible, those sales should be less than 3 months old. If the market has changed, the use of old data will distort the results.

CURRENT LISTINGS

This represents the prices of homes you will be competing with. These are the homes that the buyers will look at and compare to yours. I have a question for you: When you bought your home, how did you determine what to pay for it? Well, if you are like most prospective buyers, you looked at several properties. And during that process, you became knowledgable about the supply of housing and gained an understanding of values in the area. Well, buyers are still comparison-shopping today. The average prospect looks at 18 homes before making a decision. If you have the time, consider looking at 2 or 3 houses on the market that are closest to yours in terms of size, style and neighborhood.

PENDING SALE

This represents competing properties that have received an offer, taking it off the market, but hasn't sold just yet. Although the selling price of these homes must be held in confidence until the settlement of the transaction, these amounts represent listing prices that have recently attracted offers in today's market. They are an excellent indication of current activity.

EXPIRED OR CANCELLED LISTINGS

This represents the number of homes that did not sell or were withdrawn from the market for various reasons, such as price, location, lack of amenities/features, lack of marketing, or Seller changing their mind about selling.