--- title: "Seven Costly Sins - Sin #1" description: Thinking of selling your home? Part one of the 'Seven Costly Sins' that home owners commit when selling their home. Sin 1 - Pricing outside the selling zone image: https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/hubfs/pricing-525x350.jpg --- [0800 030 646](tel:0800030646) - Search - [Contact Us](https://nzhl.co.nz/contact-us/) - [Find Us](https://nzhl.co.nz/find-us/) - [Client Login](https://nzhl.co.nz/login/) [![NZHL](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/hubfs/Nzhl_January2019%20Theme/Images/logo-footer-nzhl.png)](https://nzhl.co.nz/) - [Home Loans](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans) - - [Change to NZHL](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/switch-to-nzhl/) - [Buying your first home](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/first-home/) - [Buying your next home](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/next-home/) - [Interest rates](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/interest-rates/) - [Home Loan calculators](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/tools-calculators/) - [FAQ](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/faq/) - - [How much could I borrow?](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/tools-calculators/) - [Where's my nearest office?](https://nzhl.co.nz/find-us/) - [How much deposit do I need?](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/first-home/getting-a-deposit/) - [Insurance](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance) - - [Your Life](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-life/) - [Your Health](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-health/) - [Your Home and Car](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-home/) - [Your Income](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-income/) - [Request a quote](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/request-a-quote/) - [FAQ](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/faq/) - - [NEW! 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Join us for part one of a seven part series, the 'Seven Costly Sins' that home owners commit when selling their home. ## Sin 1 - Pricing outside the selling zone Without a doubt, the most common reason for a home not selling is that the expected price has been set incorrectly. If priced too low, you may sell quickly, but you'll miss out on the best return. If priced too high you risk turning-off potential buyers without ever having held their attention. Determining the expected price and then how to use that price in your marketing campaign is vital. So how do you achieve the best balance? Your pricing strategy will depend on the market conditions. Buyers and sellers markets act very differently so it pays to get a handle on the game rules for each. The current market, within the last 3 months, is probably your best guide to realistically pricing your home for sale. Researching recent sales data and current market competition will be your most value tool here. Look at other homes for sale, ones as similar and as close to yours as possible. If they are going for less than you are asking, you may be priced too high. The simple fact is, your home is competing against other homes in the market and what buyers are willing to pay will determine the final sale price. Buyer are well researched and have a grasp on  value-for-money. If they don't perceive instance value, your home will be discounted from their shortlist almost indefinitely. Even a house priced within the selling zone, after a reduction, may achieve a price less than market value because of initial buyer dismissal. No matter what the market conditions, unrealistic pricing expectations will be a turn off to the market every time. By pricing your home realistically, you not only produce greater buyer enquiry, you also set yourself up for increased buyer competition. Ultimately this will ensure you achieve the best price at sale time. - *[Sin #1 – Pricing outside the selling zone](http://www.nzhl.co.nz/seven-costly-sins-sin-1/)* - *[Sin #2 – Displaying your home ineffectively](http://www.nzhl.co.nz/seven-costly-sins-sin-2/)* - *[Sin #3 -  Over Capitalising](http://www.nzhl.co.nz/seven-costly-sins-sin-3/)* - *[Sin #4 - Ineffectively marketing your home](http://www.nzhl.co.nz/seven-costly-sins-sin-4/)* - *[Sin #5 - Letting emotions cloud your judgement](http://www.nzhl.co.nz/seven-costly-sins-sin-5/)* - *[Sin #6 - Choosing the wrong selling method](http://www.nzhl.co.nz/seven-costly-sins-6/)* - *[Sin #7 - Engaging the wrong marketing agent](http://www.nzhl.co.nz/seven-costly-sins-7)* *This is an extract from “How to avoid the Seven Costly Sins homeowners commit when selling their home” written by Mark Lambie* [Mark](http://marklambie.raywhite.co.nz/) is a top performing Sales Manager with Ray White in Christchurch and can be contacted via [email,](http://mark.lambie@raywhite.com) mobile (0274 400 200) or visit his [website](http://marklambie.raywhite.co.nz/) *The information contained in this article is of a general nature and should not be taken as advice. It reflects the opinions of the writer only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of New Zealand Home Loans.* [![New call-to-action](https://hubspot-no-cache-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/5029003/15f9b75f-b0b2-4fde-a7e7-54af0db03053.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/5029003/15f9b75f-b0b2-4fde-a7e7-54af0db03053) - Guest Contributor *Author* **Share this article** - LinkedIn - Facebook - Twitter - Google - Reddit - Tumblr ##### Related Articles Get in Touch With Us ##### Popular Posts [![Should you break your loan?](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/hs-fs/hubfs/shutterstock_1233077740.jpg?width=300&name=shutterstock_1233077740.jpg)](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/articles/should-you-break-your-loan) [**Should you break your loan?**](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/articles/should-you-break-your-loan) 11 June 2015 In my recent article I spoke about the[impact of the OCR if you are floating](http://www.nzhl.co.nz/are-you-benefiting-from-the-ocr-drop/). 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