Every seller has seen the automated estimate. A number, produced in milliseconds, from an algorithm that has never stood in your kitchen. It is a starting point for curiosity — and a poor foundation for a sale.
The right price is not the biggest number a spreadsheet will tolerate. It is the number that starts the right conversation with the right buyers, at the moment they are paying attention. Price a home correctly and the market leans in; price it hopefully and the market waits you out — then discounts you for waiting.
In Montgomery County, the difference is measured in days and in tens of thousands of dollars. The homes that sell quickly and cleanly are almost never the ones that "left room to negotiate." They are the ones priced with discipline, presented without compromise, and negotiated from a position of genuine demand.
If you are weighing a sale this year, begin with a valuation done by a person — one who will walk the rooms, study the street, and tell you the truth. That conversation is free, and it usually pays for itself many times over.