Sounds like you don't like the comps. Three years ago is not now. You can contact more agents or you can pay for an appraisal so you will know what the bank will loan.

I was also thinking three years is a long time considering how much things have changed in a lot of real estate markets.

I agree with your suggestion, we will interview at least two more..thank you.

I live in a market and neighborhoods where multiple offers are routine (2 or 3 not 15 like San Francisco). If you expect more than 5 offers below advice might change so you need to understand the local customs.

First thing remember the house is worth what someone else is willing to pay. The 3 year old appraisal and what you think the house is worth mean nothing. Next understand that what a buyer is willing to pay is a range. There's no way to walk into a house and say "Yes maam this house is $645,345.45". Rather the idea is to develop a mindset that the house is worth somewhere in a range, lets say in this example between $635K and $650K but you can't precisely determine what someone is willing to pay until you have an offer. Only look at comps in the last 3 months, max 6 months. Look at any listings on the market that have not sold and have the agent explain to you why that house has not sold so you don't repeat the mistake.

Some markets and agents like to list the price as a range, so they might list the price as "accepting offers between $635K and $650K". I don't like to do that but many houses sell that way. Personally I would list it at $635K and hope for a bidding war that drives the price a little above $650K in this example.

Especially in a fast market you do not want to over price. If the house has been on the market for more than 30 days buyers and realtors will assume there's something wrong with the house or that the sellers are unrealistic. They won't even visit the property.

In any market take care of the obvious big items that will come up during an inspection before you list so that you are in control of these repairs on your timeline. If there are problems with the roof, HVAC, appliances, foundation, water damage that would make the house appear to be not well maintained take care of those now. Once these repairs are made you'll have more confidence the house will sell at your list price.

To sell the house at top dollar remove heavy window treatments and replace any carpet that won't clean up nicely. Ensure the house is spotlessly clean. Remove most of your belongings including most furniture. Repaint if you have a dark brown/red/green/gold color scheme that was popular during the brown Tuscan phase. I'd be cautious about doing more upgrades such as replacing tile or backsplash unless it really is dated and worn to the point where it detracts from the house.

Pick a realtor who has been the selling agent for many listings in your immediate neighborhood (ideally hundreds of sales over 10+ years). You want an agent who is present in the neighborhood throughout the day not working across the city miles away. You want a realtor who will work hard to keep the deal moving forward. Make sure a professional photographer is hired to take photos. Many realtors now will help stage the house as part of their standard commission.

Do people really price their homes in a range? If I find a house offered for $550k to $575k, and I am prepared to pay $580k, do I just walk away instead? Seems like shooting yourself in the foot.

Yes, range pricing is used in some areas by some agents. I don't like it, and some realtors don't like it either. The buyer is always free to offer whatever price you want and the seller is free to accept, decline, or counter offer. If there are multiple offers seller asks each party for a best and final which may be below, within the range or above.

You need to find an agent that will price it at market value. The two agents you have interviewed so far, one has priced it admittidly too low and one has priced it probably too high. Buyers dislike playing games. Price it at market value and forget all the games.

First and foremost- forget the appraisal from 3 years ago. Has nothing to do with market value today.

Second- you live in an urban area with low inventory? Woo-hoo. Sounds a lot like a seller's market. So you have a decent amount (maybe a bunch) of buyer's agents and their clients who drive through your neighborhood everyday, searching.

Make sure you have a Realtor who will employ "Coming Soon" as a strategy. List price at market value, and heck- it is possible that you get an offer before it ever hits MLS. Certainly builds interest.

Or?

This was a fun strategy that once sold a home of mine FAST (PNW, but suburban)- Agent listed, for a short time, "Coming Soon". Had a Realtor's tour, pre-MLS list. Offered showings for 7 days- offers accepted during/through the period but no decisions until the last day. So make them your best and final. And then- let's go.

That was amazing. We had one week of "furious activity"- tons of showings. Heck, we moved out! 5 offers by the expiration of the week of showings, three for over the listing price, 2 were completely pre-approved and solid- one had a contingency clause, the other didn't. One was cash, no contingencies, with a "request for a quick close". Above market, all cash, and we got out in 30 days, start to finish.

Hot markets can do this for you. Get at stone-cold professional on your side and GO!

A friend has a house that's been sitting on the market now for over a year. They took it off the market before Thanksgiving (but have already moved) and will put it back on the market with a new listing agent in Feb. Why no sale? It's a lovely home and they had it beautifully furnished...for someone who likes traditional decor and antiques, not most of the market today. It also has virtually no flat back yard. Instead, it has incredible tiered gardens that cover over an acre. Since most larger houses today are being bought by young families, this one would not be good. Also, an addition had those gawd-awful heat/ac units that go in the walls, rather than installing duct work and a separate MVAC system. For a house priced at nearly a million in a market where that is a VERY high priced house, that would be a deal killer for me. It's not that they need a certain amount of money out of this house...they just think it's a wonderful house that is worth more than others buying do. They have not had a single offer, not even a lowball one.

We just recently sold our home in an area that is considered a "seller's market." Plus, listing in February, there was little inventory on the market as it was (not sure where you are from, but people around here wait for the weather to warm up before listing, or wait until school is out to move the kids), adding to our benefit.

My suggestion would be to go with a realtor from a company that has much knowledge about your area. Whose signs do you see the most? We chose a company that basically sells every house in our area, so our agent was very familiar with the town's market.

We priced our house where we needed to price our house (not sure if you are looking for a certain take away profit, like we were). We didn't feel like we needed to go low to create a bidding war, as buyers are waiting for houses to come on the market as it is (and bidding wars are super stressful for everyone, I think). We also didn't want to go too high, despite the low inventory and "seller's market." As our realtor said, you're going to get the most activity you'll ever get in the first couple of weeks that you list your house, so you definitely don't want it overpriced. After being on the market a while, people will forget about your house and go with the new house that just went on the market, or they will think that there is something that is keeping your house on the market (even if there isn't).

Lastly, make sure your realtor knows how to market. Right when we listed our home, our agent had showings lined up constantly for the next few days. Ultimately, we received a full priced offer within 12 hours of our house being on the market. Low inventory + seller's market = fast paced deals.

We do wonder if we could have gotten more for our house, but we came out with what we needed money wise, and it was so much less stressful than going through months of showings and open houses. As my husband says, "pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered."

I'd love to hear from the OP- how did it go?