How to Price Furniture When Selling a House

When selling a house, homeowners often have furniture they no longer need or wish to move. Properly pricing these items can help streamline the moving process and recover some investment. Understanding how to accurately assess, research, and set a fair asking price for used furniture is important for a successful sale. This involves evaluating furniture characteristics, understanding market trends, and applying strategic pricing methods.

Assessing Your Furniture’s Value

Before determining an asking price, it is important to objectively evaluate each piece of furniture. The item’s condition significantly influences its resale value, ranging from ‘excellent’ for nearly new items with no visible flaws to ‘fair’ for pieces with noticeable wear, scratches, or minor damage. Structural integrity, such as a sturdy frame or smoothly operating drawers, is a primary consideration, as issues like wobbling or broken components will reduce value.

The age of the furniture also plays a role in its valuation. Contemporary items generally depreciate over time, similar to how most consumer goods lose value after purchase. However, antique or vintage pieces, typically those older than 20 years, might retain or even increase in value due to their unique design, craftsmanship, or rarity.

The brand and overall quality of construction are further determinants of value. Furniture made from solid wood with intricate joinery holds its value better than items from particle board or mass-produced materials. Considering the original purchase price provides a baseline, as most used furniture will sell for a fraction of its retail cost.

Researching Current Market Prices

After assessing your furniture’s internal characteristics, the next step involves researching external market data to understand what similar items are currently selling for. Online marketplaces are a primary resource for this research, with platforms such as Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, eBay, and OfferUp for general used furniture. For more specialized or high-end pieces, sites like Chairish or Etsy cater to vintage and unique items. When utilizing these platforms, search for items that closely match your furniture in type, brand, age, and condition.

Visiting or contacting local consignment shops and used furniture stores can also provide insights into regional pricing trends. These establishments often have a good understanding of local demand and typical resale values. An important aspect of market research is focusing on “sold” prices rather than just “asking” prices. An item’s asking price reflects a seller’s hope, but a “sold” price represents what buyers are actually willing to pay, offering a more realistic gauge of market value. For unique or antique items, past auction results can provide valuable data on realized sale prices.

Formulating Your Asking Price

Combining your furniture’s assessed value with current market prices allows you to formulate a strategic asking price. Most household furniture experiences significant depreciation. A common guideline suggests pricing used furniture between 20% and 50% of its original retail price, with adjustments based on its current condition and market demand.

For example, an item in excellent, like-new condition might start at the higher end of this range, potentially 70-80% of its original cost, while a piece with noticeable wear would be priced at the lower end. Upholstered items, such as sofas, generally depreciate faster than solid wood pieces.

When setting your price, consider potential buyer expenses like moving or delivery costs, as these can influence a buyer’s willingness to pay. It is advisable to set an initial price slightly above your lowest acceptable offer to allow room for negotiation, a common practice in the used goods market. Selling personal household items for a loss typically does not result in a tax deduction, as the IRS generally considers such sales personal transactions. However, any gain from selling a personal item would be taxable. If selling multiple pieces, such as a bedroom set, bundling them together can offer a perceived value to the buyer, potentially fetching a better overall price than selling each item individually.