It was the night before Christmas, Hanukkah was in full swing, and we were thinking about selling our home in Rose Hill.

I noted the price that we originally paid and determined the home appreciation and-or depreciation. I also listed the home improvements and respective costs.

It looked like our home should sell for $485,000. With wiggle room for bargaining added, we should list it at $499,000.

It was late.

As I went to sleep, the thought of what our home might sell for was very comforting.

Rattling by the window awakened me. An apparition said, “I’m the spirit of your local real estate agent. I want to sell your home. What’s it worth?”

“$485,000,” I said.

“You’re right on the money! Sign this listing agreement,” said the apparition.

When I told him I’d have to run it by my wife, he said he would call me tomorrow and disappeared.

A second spirit awakened me. “I want to sell your home. What’s your price?”

“It’s $485,000,” I said. She replied, “With your waterfront location, you could get $50,000 more. Wake up your wife and we’ll sign this listing agreement.”

I told her to call me in the morning. She said okay and then she was gone.

The music was soft and sweet. When I opened my eyes, there were two spirits looking at me. The spirit team said, “We would like to share some information with you about your home’s market value.”

I asked them if they wanted to know what we thought our home would sell for. “Oh, no,” they said. “Better to compare our information with the price you came up with.”

With a wave of their hands, a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) appeared on a screen suspended in the air. It compared homes for sale and homes that sold (similar to ours), indicating that our home would sell for $450,000.

With another wave of their hands, we were visiting these homes for sale. They were priced between $425,000 and $475,000, and I must say that they were just as nice as – and some nicer than – our home.

If I were a buyer, I would buy one of these before paying $485,000 for ours.

I wish you all happy holidays, and if your home is for sale, I wish for you that it sells fast and for the highest possible price.

Larry Stoller is a real estate consultant and advertising executive who loves living in Bluffton and helping real estate agents and sellers get homes sold.