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We currently have our house for sale. It has been about 3 weeks and have had 2 showings with no offers. We need to sell fast and it is listed for $425k. We need to reduce the price to sell it, but do we reduce by $10k, 15k or 20k to get out from under it? It's in Cary/Apex in a great neighborhood with great schools. I don't know if a $10k reduction will be enough to get it sold-any suggestions?
you need to bring it below the 425 to 399k point if you are trying to do a quick sell. If the homes around you are in 400k range the 399 will draw some interested buyers . The buyers during the winter season tend to be more serious.
I did and he suggested to reduce by $10k. There is a house in the neighborhood, smaller and doesn't have as many upgrades and they were at 425k and just reduced to 400k and have not sold yet. I tend to agree with SunnyKayak post that stated 399K, but I really cannot go lower than 390k for financial reasons.
I did and he suggested to reduce by $10k. There is a house in the neighborhood, smaller and doesn't have as many upgrades and they were at 425k and just reduced to 400k and have not sold yet. I tend to agree with SunnyKayak post that stated 399K, but I really cannot go lower than 390k for financial reasons.
I too like the idea of $399K b/c that will capture searches in MLS that input in at maximum price of $400K.
If you are financially able, a rent to own with a sizable down payment could sell your house quickly. It may sound scary, but as a realtor I did several and they worked out very well. If you are not able to do that list it at an odd amount, ie. 399,993 or something like that. An unusual amount will stand out, you can also offer a selling bonus to the agent that sells it.
If you are stressed about not having sold a $425K home in 3 weeks in the current market I would humbly suggest that you need to alter one of two things significantly-Either you change your expectations or significantly lower the price.
Inventory levels are such that a serious buyer could look at 10 homes a day every day for 3 weeks and not see everything. Your home either has to be HEAD AND SHOULDERS above your competition or priced SIGNIFICANTLY below the competition for it to sell that quickly.
In my neighborhood of approximately 300 homes there are 18 homes on the market between $375K and $450K. 4 of those 18 are new construction homes that were complete and for sale when we bought our home A YEAR AGO. These 4 homes have been lowered in price a minimum of $35K and in one case is priced $50K lower than when we looked at it last October. That home is a VERY nice home that was our second choice-IMO there is nothing "wrong" with it AT ALL. We picked our home because the floorplan was better for us, but had our house not been available we would have bought this #2 choice at a price nearly 10% higher than the current listing price. This is in a neighborhood that has had very good sales volume-56 sales YTD, and 84 sales over the past 12 months. You simply cannot change the fact that a buyer has nearly unlimited choices and builders who are lowering prices in a way that many homeowners simply cannot.
If you cannot afford to lower your price you must make your home PERFECT. Not "nice", perfect. You cannot give a buyer ANY reason to take your home off their list. You need to mulch, rake, mow, sweep, powerwash. You need to declutter, stage, depersonalize, and CLEAN. Your house has to blow them away for you to have a shot. All of this assumes that you are not working against some form of objection that you cannot address-power lines, busy street, bad lot, or a home that is simply out of step cosmetically with others in your neighborhood and price range. There ae some $425K homes that show like a $500K home and others that show like a $350K home-yours needs to fall into the first category.
This is not meant to be harsh. I think in the current market your agent might be afraid to upset/offend you or risk losing the listing by telling you the way things are, but I have no dog in this fight. I wish you all the luck in the world, and I hope things work out the way you need them to.
I'm not a real estate agent, but I do watch lots of HGTV. ...so here's my humble opinion:
If you're intending to sell the house quickly (that's a relative term these days), have your agent look at the closed sales over the past year (not listings, actual sales). Your agent can see the $/sq.ft. average for your area and calculate the best price for your house. Just like stocks, buyers will step in when the price is right (read: "low enough").
If you're making a price adjustment, make one that's big enough to get someone's attention. $10K on a $425K home is pocket change. I would suggest that unless you're reducing the house $25, you might as well not. Also, keep in mind that when people search on realtor.com or other real estate sites, the ranges are 350-400, 400-450, etc. If you're right at $400K, you will show up on TWO of the price ranges, not just one. We used sites like that when we were looking and most other people do, too, these days. I know that "Penny's pricing" (3.99 instead of 4.00) is still popular, but times are a-changing.
Meanwhile, keep your house neat and clean. Weed your gardens, even plant some flowers (I believe pansies will bloom all winter). Try to make it look like a model home (If you're not sure, drive around to some of the new developments and look at the model homes). Curb appeal can make the difference of whether or not the buyer even wants to come in. Once the buyer sets foot in the door he/she will know whether or not he/she likes your house within 15 seconds or so. The best thing you can do is to de-clutter. If you're packing to move, keep enough to stage the house, but pack up personal pictures, piles of paper, half your clothes (makes your closet look bigger) and get your small appliances off the kitchen counter.
De-clutter, de-clutter, de-clutter!
Maybe you and your agent can get a look at some of the competition, too. Take a weekend and go to any open houses in your neighborhood to see what your buyers are looking at.
Keep in mind that (as I'm sure you know by now) having to quickly clean up and vacate for an hour is a significant inconvenience, so don't go "window shopping" at your neighbor's house that is also for sale unless it's an open house.
Good luck!
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It will sell at the right price
...so here's my humble opinion:
