Separate your plans from the property information.
Your preferred proceeds, timing and next plans are useful context. They help shape a strategy, but do not establish what a buyer would pay. Write down your expectations separately from features that can be checked: location, land, built area, layout, condition and what will be included in the sale.
If you bought years ago or made improvements, keep that history available. Explain what changed, when it changed and what supporting information you have. The cost of an improvement does not automatically establish its contribution to a selling price. Distinguish what you spent, what remains useful and what a buyer can assess in the property today.
Compare properties that genuinely belong together.
Look for a similar property type and area before comparing prices alone. An apartment, a detached home and a plot of land can serve different needs even within the same municipality. Record the location, access, measurements, parking, condition, amenities and date of each reference. Keep land and built area separate, and do not compare square meters directly with square varas.
An advertisement shows an asking price; it does not establish the price of a completed transaction. Record where each figure came from and whether it is current. If a reference differs substantially, describe that difference instead of treating it as equivalent. A small set of well-understood references can be more useful than a long list without context.
Ask what explains a price difference.
Imagine two similarly sized homes advertised at different prices. Before averaging them, check their layout, access, condition and usable spaces. Recent work, a pending repair or an important feature missing from a listing may change the comparison. This is a way to develop questions, not a valuation of your own property.
Where information is missing, identify what a visit can clarify and what requires professional assessment. Ask for the references and limitations behind a recommendation. A figure accompanied by clear assumptions is easier to evaluate than a promise of a quick sale or a selling price that has not been supported.
Agree on how you will review the strategy.
Setting an initial asking price should include a conversation about updates. You can record relevant inquiries, viewings, recurring questions and offers received. Keep these stages distinct: advertisement views are not property visits, and neither establishes that an acceptable offer exists. A useful update explains what actually happened and what remains uncertain.
Before changing your approach, discuss the observations and the questions still open. Presentation, viewing availability and the clarity of the information also belong in the conversation. Any adjustment should have a reason you understand while reflecting your priorities and the conditions you are prepared to consider.
TAKE IT WITH YOU
Five questions to ask about a recommendation
- Which properties were selected as references, and why?
- Are the figures advertised prices or confirmed transactions?
- What information still needs verification?
- How does my property differ from those examples?
- What evidence will we use to review the price and presentation?