Sell for More in 2026

Pricing in a higher-inventory market

With roughly four or more months of supply across the Houston area, buyers are not afraid of missing out. They tour more homes, they wait for reductions and they write offers on the house that feels like the best value. Your price is not a statement of what the house is worth to you. It is a position in a lineup.

How I price: the PSA method in plain English

1. Start with closed sales from the last three to six months in your section of the neighborhood, on similar lots, from a similar era.
2. Adjust for what buyers here actually pay for: lot size and frontage, elevation and flood history, updated systems, a garage and a primary bedroom downstairs.
3. Study the competition you will face this weekend. Active and pending listings matter as much as solds, because buyers compare you to what is available now.
4. Check absorption in your price band. Months of supply varies sharply between a $700,000 original and a $1.6 million new build.
5. Price for search brackets. Buyers filter in round numbers, so a home at $749,000 appears in searches that a home at $755,000 misses.
6. Pressure-test against the appraisal. If a buyer is financing, the appraiser's comps are the ones that ultimately matter.

Why overpricing costs more now

In a fast market, an overpriced home could still sell. Today it tends to sit. After a few weeks, buyers and their agents start asking what is wrong with it, and every new listing that comes on at a better value pushes it further down the list. The homes I have watched test the market high usually took one or two reductions and then sold for less than they would have brought at the right price on day one.

The 14-day prep plan

This plan assumes your home is in reasonable repair. Larger projects add time, and Compass Concierge can front the cost of select improvements like paint, repairs and staging with no upfront fees, repaid at closing.

Improvements that return money, and ones that do not

In Garden Oaks, Oak Forest and the Heights, the lot often carries much of the value, which changes the math on improvements. The best pre-sale dollars remove reasons for a buyer to negotiate. The worst ones try to win a style contest.

Usually worth it

• Fresh paint in warm, light neutrals, especially in main living areas
• Refinishing original hardwood floors, common under carpet in older cottages and ranches
• Fixing what any inspector will flag: leaks, wood rot, missing GFCI outlets, loose handrails
• Landscaping, tree trimming and a clean, well-lit front entry
• Updated light fixtures and hardware where the originals look tired
• Documentation: HVAC service records, a sewer line report, a foundation engineer's letter and any transferable warranties

Usually not worth it before a sale

• Full kitchen or bath remodels started in the months before listing
• Additions, new pools or garage conversions
• Highly personal finishes: bold tile, saturated paint, custom built-ins
• Replacing a sound roof for appearance alone. Do get a roofer's assessment, though, because a buyer's insurer will ask about roof age.

If your home is a likely lot sale

On many Garden Oaks streets and some Oak Forest blocks, builders are part of the buyer pool. If a builder is likely to pay the most, renovation dollars may never come back. Instead, give both audiences what they need: present the home attractively for the family that wants a charming original, and hand builders the survey, lot dimensions, tree locations, flood zone and the deed restrictions for your section so they can underwrite quickly.

Pre-listing inspections: when they help

Texas sellers must disclose known defects. A pre-listing inspection creates knowledge you will need to disclose, which is not a reason to avoid one. It is a reason to be deliberate about it.

• Most helpful on 1940s to 1960s homes, homes with known issues, estates and out-of-town sellers who cannot manage surprises on a deadline.
• Targeted inspections often beat a full report: a sewer camera scope, a foundation engineer's evaluation, a roof assessment or an HVAC service.
• Use the results three ways: fix the item, price it in, or disclose it with a contractor's bid attached. Buyers negotiate far less over problems they already knew about.

Launch sequencing: photos, video and timing

Buyers decide whether to tour from their phones. The order matters: prep, staging, media, copy, then launch. Rushing photos before a home is ready is the most expensive shortcut in real estate, because the first photos are the ones that travel.

• Daylight and twilight exteriors, especially under mature trees
• A floor plan, which buyers increasingly expect and which pre-qualifies showings
• A short video walk-through and aerials when the lot or location is the story
• Listing copy that leads with what this neighborhood's buyers value: lot, light, schools, trail access
• A mid-week launch so the first weekend brings full showing traffic, with feedback reviewed at day 7 and day 14

Compass Coming Soon and Private Exclusives

Compass gives sellers two pre-market options. A Private Exclusive is marketed quietly to Compass agents and their buyers, which lets you test price, gather feedback and protect your privacy. Coming Soon on Compass.com builds anticipation publicly before the listing goes live on the MLS, so your days-on-market count starts when you are ready.

Neither is right for every home. A private phase reaches a smaller pool of buyers, and MLS rules limit how and how long a home can be marketed outside the MLS. Those rules have been changing, so I confirm the current requirements with you before we choose a path.

Reading offers beyond price

The highest number is not always the strongest offer. Terms carry real dollar value, and some offers are far more likely to close than others.

I net out every offer side by side, after contributions, repairs and timing costs, so you are comparing what each one actually puts in your pocket.

Negotiation from the other side of the table

Procurement taught me that the calm, prepared side usually wins. These are the habits I bring to every listing.

• Know your alternative. Before the first offer arrives, we decide what you would do if this deal fell through: wait, lease or take a backup.
• Trade, do not give. Every concession comes with something in return, even if it is only a shorter option period or a firmer closing date.
• Answer repair requests with bids and credits, not open-ended promises to fix things.
• Use deadlines. Clear response times keep momentum and keep buyers from shopping your house against the next listing.
• Keep a backup offer in play when you can. It changes the tone of every negotiation that follows.
• Never reveal your floor. Your bottom line belongs to you and your advisor, not the other side.

Net sheet basics

Your net is what you take home at closing. Start with the sale price and subtract the following:

• Your mortgage payoff, including interest through the closing date, and any home equity line
• Agent compensation, which is negotiable and set out in your listing agreement and the contract
• The owner's title policy, which Houston-area sellers customarily pay, plus your share of escrow and document fees
• Prorated property taxes for the part of the year you owned the home, since Texas taxes are paid in arrears
• Any seller contributions, repair credits or a home warranty you agree to provide
• A new survey if your existing one cannot be reused, plus prorated HOA or civic club dues where they apply

Many Houston sellers see total costs, before any concessions, land somewhere roughly in the 6 to 9 percent range of the sale price, with agent compensation and taxes as the largest variables. Your number depends on your terms, so we build a real net sheet before you list and again for every offer.