Selling Your Phoenix Home by Owner? How to Set the Price

Selling your home by owner (FSBO) can save a commission, but it puts the hardest decision squarely on you: the price. Price too high and the home sits, or the buyer’s appraisal comes in low. Price too low and you leave money on the table.

Here’s a practical way for FSBO sellers in Phoenix and across Maricopa County to arrive at a price that buyers, and their lenders, are likely to support.

Why online estimates aren’t enough

Home-value websites are a reasonable starting point, but they are computer models:

• They don’t see your home’s condition, updates or problems.
• They often rely on county records, which can have the wrong square footage, bedroom count or pool/garage details.
• Their estimates for the same house can differ widely from site to site.

A buyer’s lender won’t use them. It will order an appraisal, and that appraisal is what decides how much the buyer can borrow.

Think like the buyer’s appraiser

When your buyer finances the purchase, a licensed appraiser will:

1. Measure the home and note its features and condition.
2. Choose comparable sales: similar homes nearby that recently closed (not just listed).
3. Adjust for differences like size, garage, pool, lot, updates and condition.
4. Reconcile to a market value.

If your price is above what that process supports, you’ll be renegotiating after the appraisal. Pricing from the same kind of evidence up front avoids that.

Steps to price an FSBO home

1. Get the facts right. Confirm living area, bedrooms, bathrooms, lot size and any additions. Unpermitted additions are often treated differently.
2. Look at closed sales, not active listings. Asking prices are wishes; closed prices are the market.
3. Compare condition honestly. A fully remodeled comparable and an original-condition home are not the same, even next door.
4. Watch the trend. In a market that’s shifting, recent sales matter more than older ones.
5. Get an independent opinion. A pre-listing appraisal gives you a written market value from a state-certified appraiser who has no stake in the sale.

What a pre-listing appraisal gives an FSBO seller

• An independent market value based on closed sales and your home’s real condition.
• Measured square footage and a floor plan sketch, often useful for your listing.
• A report you can choose to share with buyers to support your price (you don’t have to).
• Fewer surprises when the buyer’s lender orders its own appraisal.

Common questions

Will the buyer’s lender accept my appraisal? Generally no. The lender orders its own appraisal. Your pre-listing appraisal is for your pricing decision and negotiation.

Should I fix things before the appraisal? If you plan to make repairs before listing, tell the appraiser; it can affect timing and the value. Ask us when you order.

Do you appraise outside Phoenix? Yes, residential real estate throughout Maricopa County, including the West Valley.

Get a price you can stand behind

West Valley Appraisal Services prepares pre-listing residential real estate appraisals for FSBO and private sellers throughout Phoenix / Maricopa County, Arizona.

Learn about pre-listing appraisals, see our home measurement service, or call (602) 717-8450.

Written by Jason Clow, State Certified Residential Appraiser #21559. This article is general information, not legal or financial advice.