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Hello
I'm trying to sell my house in South jersey. My house has been on the market since September 2007. I've lowered my price 6 times and cannot get an offer in writing. I've also relocated out of state due to a job change and need to sell my house by the end of this month. I;m in a contigency contract to purchase a new home but cannot move in until my house in NJ is sold.
I've also changed realtors and this guy seems to be pretty good. My house was listed at 259,900 and is now down to 234,900.
If the house is priced RIGHT, it will sell. Too many folks right now have their head in the clouds as far as having their home priced. If it is a situation where you MUST sell, sometimes it means taking a loss. Nobody wants to.. but sometime the need to sell requires it. Aside from that, take a close look at what comp's are priced at in your area.
I hope it isn't a situation where you just bought the house in the last 3 years, otherwise, you may be forced to sell at a loss IF you must sell NOW.
Hello
I'm trying to sell my house in South jersey. My house has been on the market since September 2007. I've lowered my price 6 times and cannot get an offer in writing. I've also relocated out of state due to a job change and need to sell my house by the end of this month. I;m in a contigency contract to purchase a new home but cannot move in until my house in NJ is sold.
I've also changed realtors and this guy seems to be pretty good. My house was listed at 259,900 and is now down to 234,900.
FWIW, I see 2 houses listed on realtor.com for $234,900 and both IMO are overpriced.
The one listed with Weichart has an 18 year old kitchen, and since there are no bathroom shots, my guess is those need updating as well. It has dark blue carpet (which looks to be in good shape) but this might get added in the buyers head as something that needs to be replaced since it may not match their stuff. I also see a wallpaper boarder & a few walls with darker paint, so someone may deduct for that. Some of the pictures appear dark, I would have them retaken. Since you said your school district was not in Winslow, my guess is this is your house. I would lower the price at least $5,000, if not more.
The 2nd house is 17 years old with an updated kitchen, nice wood floors but it has some wallpaper. Out of the two, this one shows better online. Unfortunatly, this is in Winslow school district..
Both houses have small lots which I found by putting the MLS into my home finder.
We just bought new construction in Williamstown, I know houses (new construction) are starting at some places in the mid $200's, so you have competition with new homes.
Ask your agent what has sold, and in what price range. At our last town, we started at $240k, sold for $207 with a house built in 1972. My guess is you'll sell for somewhere around there, maybe $225k if you are lucky.
The market is the pits, no one is buying. I looked at our old neighborhood online, no one has lowered after we sold, which they will have to since our house was the best of the $200-$225k bunch.
Based on another post, I believe the OP's house is around 1,800 square feet. In that area where you can get a much larger house for 300K+, it is priced too high. Should be priced around 200K-215K.
I believe the OP's house is less than 2,000 square feet. In that area where housing is more affordable with lots much larger homes on the market, it is priced too high. Should be around 200K.
If his house is the 1st one, $200-$205k is about right to me, as someone that was just a buyer in his area.
As a buyer, I can live with older kitchen cabinets as long as they look good, but the style this house has (from what I see) does not appeal to me at all. They are a white with an oak outline. Might be worth it to put a few grand into the cabinets to help it sell.
Moderator cut: thank you ,please report the post in the future
You should use your time instead to go to every real estate site you can, sign up and put your house in your favorites there. You should also go to realtor.com, put in the same info as your house along with a larger & smaller dollar amount (min/max) like you were buying a house in your area. This will allow you to watch your competition and to make sure you are priced correctly. I'm going to paste in my usual help post for buyers, hopefully you will take the advice.
I did a search of your zip, your competition (even on your agents site) are either priced the same or less with a better kitchen. My suggestion would be to price out new cabinets, perhaps you can find a handyman to install them for under $10k They are hurting you when compared to your competition. If they are newer cabinets, I apologize but the photo of your kitchen does not make them look like anything but 20 year old cabinets. If you can't replace, is there any way you can at least paint them or have them refaced?
Also, there are about 5 pictures that are dark. You should tell your agent to either lighten them or take new ones. Look at your competition's photos, theres are a lot better. Your agent should get pro pics done, cost is about $100-$200
As for the money incentive to your agent, why are you rewarding him? You should give it 1) to the buyers agent as incentive to bring their client there or 2) to the buyer as a decorating expense Also, you would think he would feature your house on his private web site
You should lower the price now, not later. You are going to keep chasing the market down and not selling anyway because your competition looks better online (kitchen/carpet) so unless you have a really desirable location, there is no reason for buyers to even look at your house.
You should do something with the exterior as well, plant some flowers and make it inviting.
FWIW, your agent pays for enhanced listings on realtor.com but your blurb (description) sucks. Single Family Property, Area: Gloucester Twp, Subdivision: Asten Woods, County: Camden County, Approximately 0.23 acre(s), Age: 18 year(s) old, Two story, Central air conditioning, Basement, Fireplace(s), Dining room, Laundry room, Hardwood floors
Hopefully you won't take my post as anything but honest feedback. As I said, I was just a buyer in your area, hubby & I decided to spend the extra $ and buy new because the used prices didn't reflect what we felt they should be.
What part of NJ are you looking to buy in? I can recommend a few local sites but if it's not your area, you want something tailored to that area. I like ReMax, you can visit individual office sites, then look at agent profiles to read about them, making your decision easier. I've been looking for a house since February and find the Remax site the best. Prudential Fox & Roach comes close but it does not let you make folders for saved properties.
If you are looking to buy new homes that's a different story, so let us know that if it applies.
I would go to yahoo.com, then click on real estate, it takes you here. From there look for Find a REALTOR®. Fill in the info, you will get agents that give you info, and you can read feedback from customers. If you have no clue where to start, at least this give you something with customer feedback.
To find an actual house, I will c/p from a post I made to someone else to make it easier on me...
Classifieds
Craigs Lists (http://southjersey.craigslist.org/about/cities.html - broken link) - a "classified ad" site - FSBO use it as well as some of us selling with an agent. South Jersey, is selected for other parts click NJ on the right side.
Home Values Zillow - for home values (take with a grain of salt as they are on the low side)
Make an account at all of the sites. Put in your search criteria then save the search. You will get emails when new listings come on as well as price drops. Every site is different and in order to find a house, you may have to sign up at all because sites like C21 do not get picked up at other sites, nor do they show anything but their own.
My favorite site is Remax for ease of use. I actually save all homes I'm interested in from other places in my Remax home finder. I will copy the MLS # searching at Remax.
Did you know? The best chance for selling your property is within the first seven weeks! Studies show that the longer a property stays on the market, the less financial return the seller will net
Q. Why shouldn’t I price my house a little high, since I can always drop the price later?
A. That’s a strategy that sounds good – but, in fact, is more likely to result in a lower price. Here’s why. The first few weeks a house is on the market is when it will have the most activity. If a house is overpriced, it has to compete with houses at that higher price level, which are almost certainly larger or have newer/more luxurious features.
So the overpriced home is unlikely to attract an offer. Worse yet, those first weeks are when real estate agents preview the house. If it’s overpriced, they may not even bother to show it to their buyers. Eventually, the seller will have to drop the price – and may end up with an even lower price because buyers will wonder why the house has been on the market so long and may factor that into their offer.
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