Strategy for selling a house - what is the best way to proceed?

First of all, thank you for your answers. We have now obtained the opinions of 2 major real estate agents here. And we were surprised because there was almost a 50% difference in the price assessment. We do not dare to sell without a real estate agent, so the choice will probably fall on the one who offers more. Do you think it makes sense to have an appraisal made? Although, in my layman's opinion, the real estate agent knows best how to assess the market.

We have meanwhile obtained the opinion of 2 major realtors here. And we were surprised, as there was almost a 50% difference in the price assessment. We don't dare to sell without a realtor, so the choice will probably fall on the one who promises more. Do you think it makes sense to have an appraisal done? Although, in my layman's opinion, the realtor knows best how to assess the market.

That this is a layman's opinion, I couldn't have said it better myself. What sensible thing could possibly be in an appraisal when two supposed experts (for the same property in the same market situation) come to such widely differing estimates – you don't really hope that one of them is "right" *LOL* (or that the truth must lie in the middle) *LOL again*. The answer "42" is a joke and the answer "63" is at first glance "42 plus 50%", but still the same kind of joke. Realtors and competence for anything is an ultra-short joke. Taxi drivers have to pass a local knowledge exam, burger flippers a ground meat test. For realtors, it suffices to be free of previous convictions for fraud offenses – then they only need a clean shirt, business cards, and a buddy who lends them the fee for the business license. The scientific term for the phenomenon that you yourself would do this job worse is called "chance." "Anything is possible" (absolute No. 1 in the hit list of realtor clichés).

However, in my layman's opinion, the real estate agent knows best how to assess the market.

But if two real estate agents differ by 50% in their estimate (or their guess), that shows that the agents just DO NOT know how to assess it. Either only one or both...
What’s actually so difficult about just looking up similar properties (age, size, similar location, plot) on Immoscout, Immowelt to get your own "feeling" for the price? You can even do that at home from the sofa. When you buy a car, you also compare the price lists of, say, a 3 Series, A4, and C-Class without letting anyone talk you into anything.
You can then easily make a list, calculate the asking prices per m2, roughly estimate the plot sizes (easy if you have a land value reference online, e.g., Boris), and write the pros and cons of your own house as a comment next to it. That way you quickly get a sense of the asking prices compared to your own.
If you don’t feel like dealing with all the negotiations, viewings, and buyer questions, you can still hire an agent afterwards. Preferably one whose price estimate is in relation to the own experience you’ve gathered in a similar area.

P.S.: There are always agents who want to sell well below value. That usually speeds up a sale, you only have one viewing appointment, and the agent’s effort is significantly less. If I get 75% of the pay for 25% of the time, that’s also a business model.

In our area, I observe that there are a few overpriced properties where obviously the agent initially raised expectations too high. Problem: The properties are now "burned." One has been appearing again and again for 1.5 years; back then they wanted just under 700,000, now they have reached 560,000. With each new agent, the price went down a bit. They have also already tried private listings. The house is very nice, but the style is a bit special, the location is only for those "seeking peace." This means that overestimating can turn out to be anything but profitable. There are two more properties of this kind in the area, and none of them are bad houses. But if they have been on the market for so long, you think something is wrong with them.

What is actually so difficult about looking for similar properties (age, size, similar location, plot) on Immoscout, Immowelt to get a "feeling" for the price yourself? You can even do it from the couch at home. When you buy a car, you also compare price lists for, say, a 3 Series, an A4, and a C-Class without letting anyone sell you something.

The difference is, a car is not tied to the parking spot where it stands. The comparison is therefore quite inappropriate. Apart from a reasonable number of comparable properties. We ourselves had problems making our own assessment based on Immoscout for our apartment in Berlin. Year of construction, size, micro-location, elevator, number of rooms. Everything influences demand. An apartment in the top floor, even if all parameters are identical, cannot be compared so easily once one apartment has an elevator and another does not. In the end, we consulted 5 realtors and observed Immoscout over a longer period. Then drew our own conclusions. The realtors also differed by sometimes more than 50% in their estimates. Due to lack of trust and misunderstanding of the commissions, we advertised and sold ourselves. Besides the realtors who set a too low price for quick money, there are those with big promises just to get the contract. Then the property is, as described before, "burned" on the portals.

One more thing also plays a role: the brokerage fees. Even if they are now shared, these brokerage fees are missing from the purchase price (actually, as a seller, you end up paying them entirely) all the more so, because they usually cannot be financed and must be present as equity with most banks. This, in turn, reduces the equity that can actually flow into renovation or similar. And 3.57% of 600,000 EUR is a lot of kitchen you could otherwise buy.