You’ve worked like a dog on this project; you’ve creatively made it nicer than anything else in the neighborhood; for heaven’s sake the buyer-to-be OWES you for all the money, sweat, work and worry you’ve put into their new home! Right?

Wrong!That is not how people buy houses.

People are willing to pay only what a house is worth to them, in their own circumstances. A home shopper may love the new beadboard wainscoting and the new sound system, but your market may be filled with buyers who would rather pay less and do without these niceties.

• Pricing to cover your costs, be they necessary repairs or cleverbling,is a mistake that can miss the market and mean the house sits unsold, while you pay out-of-pocket for the carrying costs. If you’ve over-spent on the project for whatever reason, your best strategy is still to find the market price, sell it quickly and move on.

• Pricing above market to “see what I can get” is also a risky strategy that can mean a delayed sale. Your sale house will become known to real estate agents for all the wrong reasons. If you’ve bumped the price above the range where it should be, the shoppers in the higher range are comparing with other higher-range houses, and are likely to see yours as disappointing. Shoppers who would like it are not looking at all because it is above their range. Typically “testing the market” yields only delay, confusion and more carrying costs.

• You may be thinking “I can come down if I get a lower offer”, but too often this merely discourages offers.The market doesn’t know you are ready to negotiate well away from the asking price. Home shoppers and real estate agents who do like your house are comparing with others priced more reasonably. And, many a home shopper is sure a lowball offer will just embarrass everyone, so they find it easier to focus on another better-priced property.

Your market of prospective buyers has choices – why would they shop higher prices when they already have enough to look at in the range they want to pay? Shoppers want a good value for the price – they should think they are getting a bit more than they are paying for to motivate offers. Restrain the temptation to price ambitiously, move this house and free up the cash for the next opportunity!