If one of the goals in your list is selling your house and making a move this year, you're likely juggling a mix of excitement about what's ahead and feeling a little sentimental about your current home.

A great way to balance those emotions and make sure you're confident in your decision is to keep these three best practices in mind when you're ready to sell.

Price Your Home Right

The Omaha housing market shifted in 2023 as mortgage rates rose and home price appreciation started to normalize once again. As a seller, understanding market value is important. If you price your house too high, you run the risk of deterring buyers. And if you go too low, you're leaving money on the table.

Home buyers are most interested in properties within the first three weeks of the listing date, so pricing within fair market value increases visibility during that timeframe.

Keep Your Emotions in Check

Today, homeowners are staying in their houses longer than they used to. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the average time a homeowner has owned their home increased from 6 to 10 years since 1985. In some more established neighborhoods throughout Omaha, the average is even higher than that.

The side effect, however, is when you stay in one place for so long, you may get even more emotionally attached to your space. If it's the first home you bought or the house where your loved ones grew up, it very likely means something extra special to you.

Every room has memories and that can make it even more difficult to separate the emotional value of the house from fair market price.

Stage Your Home Properly

While you may love your Husker décor and how you've customized your house over the years, not all buyers will feel the same way about your vibe. Buyers want to be able to picture themselves in the home. They need to see themselves inside with their furniture and keepsakes – not your pictures and decorations.

Bottom Line

Fair market value can be difficult to determine. Let's connect to talk through the value of your home.