I often get teased by my clients and friends about the fact that I:
A) am balding!
B) am gaining some weight!
C) Love to blame price for the reason homes do not sell.
I should preface this with the fact that it depends on your goals. Some people hate dealing with selling their home, or have other goals where a quick sale is the most desired outcome. Some people want to get their price, and dont mind being on the market for a while. There are strategies to deal with both goals. Make sure your agent is aware of your goals and strategizes affectively. Also be aware that your agent may hold you to your goals.
The NAR(National Association of Realtors) completed a study, and to paraphrase the results of that study. If a home is on the market for 14 days with no offers, then the home is over priced. If the home has 10 showings, and does not get an offer, then it is over priced.
My first thoughts when realizing the first statement was “Well not in this market!”, but the more I think about it, the more I agree with it. Most buyers that are on the market currently are waiting for a new listing to show up. They have seen what is out there, and are now chomping at the bit to find the better deal or better home. They have their agents creating searches for their specific criteria, and or are using the internet to set up their own searches to get those new listings the second they show up on the market. Side Note: You can set up searches free of charge on my website, or you can hit me up and I can set up some searches for you.
Some might say marketing would have an affect on this. While I agree to a certain extent, marketing isnt going to sell something that is overpriced.
Let me give you an example: Milk is $3.00 a gallon at your local grocery. Milk is $10.00 across the street at the convenience store. Are you going to buy the $10 milk because it’s convenient? Prolly not… What if they put one of those crazy flapping arm guy’s out front of the store to get your attention about the $10 milk. Are you going to buy it then? No, prolly not! What if they have parachute jumpers and hot air balloons and a big old fair going on. Are you going to buy the $10 milk then? No, prolly not.. You are going to walk across the street and buy it for $3.00…..
My example is a bit out there, but you get the idea. Is marketing a part of the equation in getting your home sold, yes…. You want to make sure your house shows up on as many sites/mass media as possible to get as many people interested as possible, but sometimes all the marketing in the world isn’t enough to get your milk sold.
The second sentence sits very clear with me. If you have 10 people come through your home and you haven’t received an offer, then they are finding a better value elsewhere. There might be a couple of people who didn’t like the layout of the house, or didnt like something that couldnt be changed, but chances are they didnt like the price most of all. Price solves all problems.
An example of this: If a refrigerator has a scratch on the door, are you going to pay list price for it? Prolly not. You are going to ask for one without a scratch in the door. 10 people have walked through your door and not made you an offer. If your agent has done their marketing correctly, and you got 10 people through so your agent has, then at this point you need to reanalyze what you are asking and either price accordingly or look for alternative options(rent-to-own, lease, option contract, etc). After about 14-21 days, if your home hasn’t pended, things are going to slow down. All the Active buyers have seen your house and rejected it for some reason. The only hits you are going to get going forward are new people just coming on to the market, and chances are they want to shop around a bit to make sure yours is the best deal/home.
Disclaimer: I feel I can get away with blaming price because I do extensive “active” marketing when I list homes. A lot of agents can’t make that statement. Make sure you get a good agent when you are listing your home. Dont settle for second best, make sure they have a marketing plan to show you in advance. You pay a little more(for a good agent), but in the end it’s worth it.
Recent Comments