Almost everything that determines what your home sells for is decided before it goes on the market. The asking price, the condition it is presented in, and the week it launches do more work than anything that happens afterwards.

I am A. Q. Mufti, a Sales Representative with RE/MAX Real Estate Centre Inc., Brokerage. I list and sell homes across Mississauga, Oakville, Milton and the wider GTA.

Pricing is the whole game

Overpricing does not leave room to negotiate. It costs you the first two weeks, which are the weeks your listing gets the most attention, and a property that sits starts attracting offers below what it would have taken on day one.

A price comes from comparable sales that have actually closed nearby and recently, adjusted for what is genuinely different about your property. Not from a regional average, and not from what a neighbour is asking. I go through the comparables with you and show you the reasoning — you should be able to argue with the number.

Pricing strategy in a balanced market sets out how I read current conditions, with the TRREB figures behind it.

What actually moves the needle on preparation

Decluttering, deep cleaning, and fixing the small visible defects return more than almost anything else, because they change how the whole property reads in photographs and in the first ten seconds of a showing.

Major pre-sale renovation usually does not pay for itself. If a kitchen is dated, buyers discount it by roughly what it costs to change — and you will have spent the money and the months. I would rather tell you to leave it than sell you a project.

What selling costs

• Commission is negotiable and set out in your listing agreement before anything is signed. We agree it up front, in writing.
• Legal fees for your lawyer to handle the closing.
• Mortgage discharge. If you are breaking a fixed term early there may be a prepayment penalty. Ask your lender for the figure before you list — it is occasionally large enough to change the timing of the whole decision.
• Capital gains, if the property is not your principal residence. A rental or a second property is taxable on the gain. Worth a conversation with your accountant early rather than at closing.

Sellers in Ontario do not pay land transfer tax — that is the buyer’s cost.

How the sale runs

• Valuation and strategy. Comparables, condition, timing, and the number we are going to market with.
• Listing agreement. Term, price, commission and what is included, all agreed in writing before anything is advertised.
• Preparation and photography. The listing photographs are the first showing, and most buyers decide from them whether there will be a second.
• On market. MLS, the usual portals, and direct outreach. You get told what traffic the listing is getting, not just that it is getting some.
• Offers. I go through each one on price, conditions, closing date and deposit — the highest number is not always the best offer, and a firm offer at less can beat a conditional one at more.
• To closing. Conditions clear, lawyers do their work, and you hand over the keys.

Start with what it is worth

Before anything else, find out what your property would realistically sell for today — request a home valuation. No obligation, and no listing conversation attached to it.

The seller’s guide covers the whole process in more detail, and get in touch or call 416 908 5600 if you would rather just ask a question.

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