Thinking of selling, but my neighbors.... (for sale, townhouse, neighborhood)

[98stage2]

...both have their houses for sale too. Generally speaking, does this help or hurt the situation?

[Numb3rs]

How long have their houses been on the market? That should be your first concern.

[DanielChang]

Your neighbor's house is your competition.

Is your house a lot nicer than your neighbor's house and at a much better (lower price)? Because all potential buyers will be comparing the two houses.

[Francois]

But, when three houses in a row are for sale, it makes people wonder why they are ALL leaving at once, as if there is something undesirable about the whole neighborhood.

[Numb3rs]

Is there a cemetary under your houses? Have your TV's been acting up recently?

[Big M]

Some good points already, especially Francois. I'm always suspicious of seeing a high proportion of houses for sale in close proximity. "Do they know something I don't" crops up in my head.

Is your floorplan the same as theirs?

Tomorrow I should close on my old Centex townhouse which had been on the market 6 months. The problem that many will face is that in each community that the larger builders inhabit, there are only a limited floorplans. Hence, the likelihood of competition with others, including your neighbors.

We had 4 of the same floor plan to contend with. One was a stones throw away, and backed onto trees. However, I beat them up with a combination of better upgrades and lower price.

I have almost sold, whereas they claimed 'No Mas' and gave up last week. I sold for less than I wanted to, but at least I sold.

[dansdrive]

Location, location, location......is your house in the middle or on the end?
Price, price, price.........will your price be better than theirs?
Upgrade, upgrade, upgrades, do you offer more than the other 2?

It can help, hurt, or make no difference.

Help - more traffic
Hurt - to many homes for sale all together
No difference - just call it a push.....

Good luck with your decision!

[lamishra]

Originally Posted by Francois

But, when three houses in a row are for sale, it makes people wonder why they are ALL leaving at once, as if there is something undesirable about the whole neighborhood.

Yep. That's totally what I think when I see several houses on the same street or close together for sale. I always wonder "why does everyone want out of here? There must be something wrong!"

[CarolinaCowboy]

Originally Posted by 98stage2

...both have their houses for sale too. Generally speaking, does this help or hurt the situation?

lol, it's never good and to be honest, it is not going to help, but it is, what it is. Make your home show nicer then your neighbor's, price it just under their's and use the trio to your advantage.

[senalj]

In 2007 both of my next-door neighbors put their houses on the market, then the exact same model went up for sale further down the street. They all sold within 4 months of each other. One of my next-door neighbors sold her house quickly because she staged it to sell; it looked like a model home. She actually sold first, then it was a domino effect. The one down the street sold last because they'd done quite a few upgrades and felt they should have gotten a lot more than my neighbors. As such, they were listed for about $10k higher than the other two and wound up selling for about what my neighbors sold for, which was about $15k less than their list price. They paid the price, because their house went on the market first, but sold last. I know the market today is a lot different than it was in 2007, but you can still do some things to ensure you sell faster than your neighbors.

If you can wait until at least one of them sells, you'll be able to see how long it took and that'll give you an idea of how long your house could potentially be on the market. Then you'll be able to put your house on the market with one less competitor. Be sure to go to their open houses (if they have them), so you can compare your house to theirs. This will give you an idea of how to stage your home. You'll also get to see the upgrades they may have that you don't.

Sena