Need Advice on Selling a House (Maryville: mortgage, hoa, showings)

[SmokyMtnGal]

We have already purchased our "next" house and are trying to sell our current home. (We are downsizing and staying in Maryville) We are using a reputable agent (that wins awards, etc.) and r.e. company here in Maryville. Our house has been on the market for 5 weeks. We have had three different sets of lookers. It was down to the final two houses yesterday, but we lost out to new construction. We are priced very competively per sq. foot, the house shows well and the realtor has said that we do not need to do anything else to the house for it to sell. We are wanting a quick sale. Do you have any tips for this market to get the house sold fast? Should we offer a bonus to the selling agent if they bring a contract in fast? We are at 5% in r.e. commissions, should we go to 6? The house is priced over $500K and is 11 years old with updated appliances, etc. Thanks in advance for your help.

[GARYNJANET]

Assuming You Are Priced Within The Comps For Your Neighborhood, You Could Offer 6% To Agents, Or Offer To Pay Buyers Closing Costs. Sometimes Agents Are More Motivated To Show The 6% Houses. And Really, 5 Weeks Is Not A Very Long Time For A House To Be On The Market. You Should Allow About 3 Months. Be Glad You're Not Trying To Sell A House In Ca, You Would Be Allowing About 9-12 Months! Best Of Luck To You!!!

[Mytown]

Yes, you should be doing a 6% commission in this market. Agents are being offered even higher ones and bonuses right now. There is a lot of inventory on the market and if you want agents to show the home then you are going to have to be competitive. I'd like to say agents don't look at commissions, but they do and it does make a difference unfortunately.

[hilly7]

Honestly 5% is a bit low or at least for our area, not too far from you. Most houses here are at 6 & 7 %, new builds are usually 5%. A bonus might probably help to the selling agent but even then you have to have a client that can afford to buy and remember that the agent for the buyer should remain faithful to what the buyer's interest is. You might try dropping the price.
For the price it sounds like your Realtor is doing a good job marketing, it's already showing. Your at the upper end of the market where most people can't afford and those that can afford sometimes build or buy new. 5 weeks is not a long market time for houses in that price range. If financially you can afford to hold out then listen to your Realtor. You can offer all kinds of incentives but in reality it comes down to the right person seeing the house that loves it. It sounds like your Realtor has done just that, made it available and publicized it well.

[goodbyehollywood]

Hi SmokyMtnGal--

I feel for you! I recently went through the same thing with a rental property. It was on the market for several months and just wouldn't sell, despite being in tip-top condition. Increasing the commission and offering buyer incentives should definitely help boost showings. Providing a home warranty (and possibly paying the buyer's HOA dues and/or lawn service for the first year) will be attractive to potential buyers and offering a selling bonus to the selling agent and an commission escalator to the listing agent should help, too. And you could always offer to pay a point to buy down the buyer's interest rate, since mortgage rates have gone up half a point the past month!

The market just seems slow right now-- after the big run up the past year or so, it might be taking a breather. And this might not be true for everyone, but we found that once your house looks good and has no maintenance issues, giving a "good deal" was the only thing that moved buyers (or for that matter, agents). So you might want to lower the price a little to freshen the listing, then offer added incentives to sweeten the deal. Just my 2 cents worth-- hope it helps. Good luck!

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by goodbyehollywood

Hi SmokyMtnGal--

I feel for you! I recently went through the same thing with a rental property. It was on the market for several months and just wouldn't sell, despite being in tip-top condition. Increasing the commission and offering buyer incentives should definitely help boost showings. Providing a home warranty (and possibly paying the buyer's HOA dues and/or lawn service for the first year) will be attractive to potential buyers and offering a selling bonus to the selling agent and an commission escalator to the listing agent should help, too. And you could always offer to pay a point to buy down the buyer's interest rate, since mortgage rates have gone up half a point the past month!

The market just seems slow right now-- after the big run up the past year or so, it might be taking a breather. And this might not be true for everyone, but we found that once your house looks good and has no maintenance issues, giving a "good deal" was the only thing that moved buyers (or for that matter, agents). So you might want to lower the price a little to freshen the listing, then offer added incentives to sweeten the deal. Just my 2 cents worth-- hope it helps. Good luck!

Good suggestions, like what was said above, if it's showing well and you are loosing to new construction either drop the price or offer cash back to the buyers. If you are asking $550k now, and were going to drop the price by $25k, instead, have it listed at $550k with a $25k buyers bonus for repairs, etc. I used that tactic a couple of times myself and it is a great pot sweetner. Sounds like your house is in the tip top of price wise for TN, I hope that you sell soon, carrying costs on 2 homes gets old fast.

Tony

[cyrece]

I'm an agent in Jax, FL but I'll share my tricks. First of all, offer seller closing cost incentives and atleast to 6% co-op 3% to the selling agent. Agents do alot of work and help, but if the buyer doesn't like the home, how is a bonus going to help? The buyer has to love the house. Also, sometime you have to be patient if you're not willing to lower the price. It's either pricing or the condition of the property that needs to change if a home isn't selling. If you lower the price enough, they will come.