Use the latest asking and closing numbers to set a realistic starting position
If you are wondering whether you can push your asking price or need to stay tighter to the market, I would not guess. The better rule is to price from what homes actually closed for recently, and in Southwest Oklahoma City, OK, the typical sold price was $275,000 last month while active listings were priced at $385,450.
Looking at the latest numbers, the clearest signal was the gap between current asking prices and recent closings. Active listings carried a typical asking price of $385,450 last month, while the typical closed price came in at $275,000. That is too wide a spread to ignore when you set your own starting number.
The practical impact is straightforward. If you price from wishful thinking instead of the recent closed range, you risk missing the buyers who are actually transacting. I recommend building your launch price around the homes that really made it to the finish line, especially with recent offers landing at 100% of asking rather than far above it.
If you only remember one closed data point right now, make it this homes that went under contract recently had a typical asking price of $306,250. Where people get this wrong is assuming every active listing defines market value. In Southwest Oklahoma City, OK, the homes attracting commitments were priced much closer to the pending range than the top end of active asking prices.
Get your pricing strategy set before you list. Tighten your presentation so the home justifies the price you choose. Review competing listings carefully, but anchor your decision to recent closings and homes that actually moved into contract. Some metrics were not reported for this period.
