Whether you’re moving up to a larger home, downsizing or relocating, selling your home can be both stressful and rewarding. A real estate professional is there to guide you, educate you and protect your interests in what is likely one of your largest personal assets. Here are three must-know things sellers need to be educated on today before selling.

1. Your local and hyper-local market conditions.

Housing markets differ dramatically from city to town to neighbourhood. Sellers today need to understand at a granular level, the state of their local market (city/area code), their hyper-local market (street/neighbourhood) and statistics like Average Days on Market, Months of Inventory, List to Sale Ratios, Comparable Listing and Sales Data and Buyer Demographics in your area, to mention just a few. You would be surprised just how much data and statistics are collected by home sales over time that Realtors have access to. They have these resources so that they can help you make the most informed decision possible in the same way that banks and financial advisors use historical data of the economy to help you make informed predictions of the future.

2. The pitfalls of overpricing your home.

Setting a list price for your home is an art and skill that takes a great real estate professional years to hone. The initial list price is key. If you price too high (to see what happens), you risk losing out on a multitude of pent up buyers who won’t even consider your property as it’s out of their price range and worse, your listing helps your competition sell faster. There are many different strategies to pricing your home right but there's no one size fits all approach. Each micro market and neighbourhood will need a different strategy to make sure your home gets the most amount of attention, showings, and ultimately offers.

3. Staging counts and impacts your bottom line.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, for every $100 invested in staging your home, the potential return is $400. That’s a 400% return for doing a few simple things to improve a buyer’s first impression. Don't overlook the details such as neutral painted walls, impersonal decor, cleaning, and post staging photography to make sure you've captured your home in it's best state possible.

According to NAR, 91% of sellers partner with a real estate professional to sell their home. From market expertise, negotiation skills, agency representation to paperwork and reducing risk – working with a real estate professional is the single best decision you can make when selling one of your most valuable assets.