To ALL AGENTS! I have a home for sale in Lake Arrowhead offering 4%. I have a question about it... (commission, Realtors) - Real Estate Professionals - City-Data Forum

pane66 · 07-13-2007, 11:40 AM

Here's the deal. The market is slow up there. I listed it recently but am not getting any calls. The home is totally redone so I don't think that's the problem, I just think that the area is slow up there, that's all. Especially since it's on a tiny street. If you were selling a home, not as an agent, would you consider raising it to 5%? What do you think would be the best thing to do? Please, any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Sorcerer68 · 07-13-2007, 02:54 PM

Are you a licensed Broker or an unrepresented seller? If you're the former, raising the commission may help but remember if a home isn't priced right, it won't move. The longer it it's priced too high, the more of an "oh, I've seen that house and it's overpriced" stigma it has.
1. Priced right
2. Shows well
3. Easy to see
These are the 3 most important things I've found. I'm a former multi-million dollar top producing agent.

pane66 · 07-28-2007, 10:49 AM

Are people going to see the listing on MLS or just agents? Thanks.

desertdawgx · 07-28-2007, 11:33 AM

The market is slow because people refuse to pay 2005 bubble prices,also most cheap credit is now gone so you have to face the reality that if you don't lower the price till it sells you will be stuck with it for a long time.Real estate does go down!

UseJeff · 07-28-2007, 12:23 PM

Typically Agents and Appraisers are the only people who have access to MLS, as it's a monthly service with fee.

However, many local newspapers use MLS listings to show houses publically.

Sorcerer68 pointed out the most important thing to selling once it's actually viewed.

Did you list it with an agent? If not, are you positive it's on MLS?

Have you had it appraised? If not you could at least call an appraiser and ask them to do a comp check of sorts, of recent sales, pending sales, and listings. Appraisers are slow right now, and many may do this for free, especially if tell them you will recommend them as the appraiser for the new loan on the purchase. If not free, I'm sure $50 would be a nice gesture, and motivate them.

The reason I mention finding out past sales, current, and listings, is so you can compare your house to your price bracket, and house bracket. The average buyer has a budget they are considering, and they will be shown the houses that fall within that budget. If your house is overpriced compared to the competition, they probably will never make it to your door.

I would also take a look at the major local online newspapers that have a homes for sale search engine. If you're not on there, be sure you get on. If you are on there, you may be able to pay extra to upgrade your listings photos. Be sure your photos are amazing, and I would definitely have a virtual tour, as many listings these days do. You really need to sell your house twice...first on the internet, or the listing that is forwarded to the client. Then you actually have to sell it once they reach the curb.

One other side note, I've mentioned this in a different post but... When you check your local newspapers online listings, pay close attention to how their search engine works. Most search engines let you search by a spread of price, ie. $300,000 - $350,000. If your house happens to be on the cusp of this search parameter, you can try changing the price to get into a whole new tier. You can often be most successful if you're on the top end of a tier, and you end up moving up a tier to the bottom. Just a thought... I also believe, not sure on this though, that a price change can refresh your houses position on the searches, as it's considered a new posting.

Another thing that probably has a major effect is the amount of houses for sale out there. You're competing with a ton of sales, lots of foreclosures (which many buyers target cause they believe they will get a house for way below market value), and then in addition you're competing against all of the builders who went batty building, and now have to clear the houses before they go broke with finance fees.

So in essence, all you can do is use every tool available to your advantage, then hope for some luck.

I hope this helped, and good luck selling it!!!

longbeachhomes · 07-31-2007, 06:05 PM

In addition to what UseJeff said, as a seller you also have to have some flexibility not only with the price but also the terms by which you will sell the property. Most of the people who buy in your area are investors of some sort. Depending on how important it is you sell your property and how much risk you are willing to take - that will determine the terms of your sale.
As realtors, we are finding that we have to have a strong marketing strategy to sell our listings. Hence, the question " Do You have it listed with an agent?" This market is different. You need an aggressive agent with a solid marketing strategy in order to sell your property. The competition in the market is really fierce!

Sorcerer68 · 07-31-2007, 06:08 PM

Didn't this person say they were a broker in another post?

watersj · 08-19-2007, 04:34 PM

We have the opposite problem, we looked in Lake Arrowhead for a house and we have a huge amount of questions about the cost of living, taxes etc. Our family lives in the LA area which is the reason we are considering the move. We currently live in a mountain area on a river in another state, but the cost of living is so much cheaper (I am sure) here. We are mostly concerned about cost and that road going from LA to Arrowhead looked like it could be a problem.

Any recommendations? We do not need a realtor as we worked with a great one (I think)....

kaliforniachick · 10-08-2007, 01:04 AM

The MLS automatically links up to Realtor.com which is a public site. Your price is your biggest issue..... lower to the lowest price possible. It will sell priced right.

CrestlineSteele · 10-21-2007, 06:07 PM

Houses are selling up here, but they have to be priced right. They have to show well, and even then it's taking upwards of 6 months. You must have it on multiple MLSs not just one. It also must be on Realtor.com with multiple photos, on numerous listing and property websites. Do a virtual tour also.
If you are going to offer a 5% commission, you might as well have it listed with an agent that can do all these things for you!