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We've been on the market for 9 months now, just started with a new agent a couple of months ago. Since we put our house on the market several others in our neighborhood have done so as well mostly due to building too big of a house and realizing now that they can't afford to live in it. We have 20 lots in the subdivision and out of that 9 are built out and 5 of those are for sale. Out of the remaining 11 lots 4 of those are for sale.
We are concerned that having over half the houses in this reletively new subdivision (2 years old) up for sale might make people think something is wrong and avoid the area.
The other thing I'm thinking is all of the houses are in different price ranges from a low of 400k (ours) to 900k and sizes from 2500 sqft (ours) to 5000 sqft so there is a whole range of choices and this will bring people in and possibly get someone who is looking at the higher priced houses to look at ours.
These are all basically on the same lot sizes so the only differences are what is built on the lots and where they're situated in the subdivision.
Jim, unfortunately there are some major problems w/your situation.
1. You never want to be the biggest or the smallest house "on the block" so to speak.
2. Approx 1/2 your lots/homes are for sale in your subdivision. That's extremely bad.
I think you really need to face reality and lower your price significantly. If I'm a buyer, why would I buy your house when I could build new and have everything I want and still get major incentives from the builder? That's from a buyer's perspective.
I understand sellers think their house is worth more than it really is, but this has to be about business and the sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be.
Jim, I don't subscribe to the "lower your price significantly" theory that some people have. First of all you didn't mention what your price was nor what the comps prices are.
It may be difficult, but your agent should be able to comp your house out, and if you need to sell, then it should be priced at the level where the recent homes have been Sold, and slightly lower than the Active competition homes.
Your price may, or may not, be the problem.
When only half of a subdivision is built out and half of the homes are for sale, then I agree with CJ that is a bad situation. However, I would not advise you to give your house away, as some would, in order to get rid of it.
If you don't need to sell, then you may wish to just take it off the market and wait until the market changes. If you have to relocate and can rent this home out and can afford to rent at your new location, or if you can afford two mortgages, then that may be your solution.
I'm assuming you have a listing agent; what does your agent say about the situation?
Exactly where are you located?
How is the overall market in your area, not just your subdivision?
There are fewer buyers out there today because many of them who want to buy are afraid of the economy and just unsure as to whether this is the time to jump back in. That lowers your pool of buyers for your property.
Some of the people who may look at your property are bargain hunters who will want to steal your home. They will not negotiate the current value of your home. Instead they will tell you that "I know this isn't what you want to get for your home, but this is what I think it's worth today." That price will have absolutely nothing to do with the current comps, and is nothing more than a low ball offer.
If you have time you can
leave it on the market at the "current" market value until the "reasonable" buyer comes along who wants your home;
I have to agree that being in an area where so many homes/lots are for sale is probably hurting you. However, being in a rural area on an acreage may make that situation less noticeable. (I'm assuming this is the nice home you posted pictures of last fall?)
From some of your previous posts, I'm pretty sure you're probably priced at the low end of the comps since dropping your price when you relisted. You definitely need to be in that lowest price point of the comps. If you're already there, I would not suggest lowering your price any further.
To me, the size and amenities of your home make it a home where it's not all about price. We've got lots of homes priced really well in my market, but here's what's selling around here. (Of course, each individual market is different, but it may help you generally.)
1) Homes that are underpriced by 10% or more are sellinig quickly (provided there's no major issues with the home).
2) Homes that are priced at market that blow away the rest of the competition are selling.
3) Yes, there are fewer buyers out there. However, I'm not finding that it's all about price. What I am finding is that because there are so many homes to choose from, each buyer is taking their time and continuing to look and wait until they find "the perfect" home for them. For these buyers, price is secondary. They expect to get a good deal, but they especially know what they want and when they find it, they buy it. (Of course this is not the case with firsttime homebuyers, the bargain hunters, and those with strict price limitations.)
My suggestion is to figure out your niche buyer and then do everything possible to market to those buyers. What's your 2 or 3 PRIMARY selling points of your house? Figure that out, and then get the word out. Don't let your agent market your home in a generic way - make sure there's something special about your house that's being showcased (and not just in the ad copy in a print ad)
BTW, I would think springtime in your area when things start to green up that the buyer activity normally picks up then. Of course, what's normal in this market???
Thanks for the replies so far and let me answer a couple.
1st CPJ, I think there's a misconception about the subdivision, there is no primary builder here, all the houses have been built by their owners and all the lots are owned by different people so I'm not competing with any builder within the subdivision or for that matter anywhere close to me. I'm not the smallest house in the subdivision, just the lowest priced at this point though I am the smallest that's for sale being that I built smarter than my neighbors IMO in that my house started out at 4300 sqft and we cut it back to 2500 when we realized that there was no reason to have a house that big and if anything went wrong we would be in jeopordy of not being able to make the payments.
2nd CB, We are currently priced about $20 per sqft below our comps and a new CMA was done about 30 days ago causing a price drop of $22k. We do have time thankfully as we don't HAVE to move for any reason, we (I) just want out of this cold for health reasons. We can cover the payments (unlike my neighbors), don't have to transfer jobs so we can sit I just don't want to.
3rd Gretchen, Yes, it's the same house as last fall. Our market is flat from about $300k to $650k and inventory is bloated. Spring usually brings out buyers but we went through last spring with zippo... We are starting to see Canadians coming down and buying 2nd and 3rd homes and we are marketing Canada and looking at other markets that are moving here. You're right, I will suggest the agent highlight the professional kitchen since no one around us has anything close, not to mention the 3 car garage or paved drives which none of the other houses have.
As for price, it seems to me that the only way to break the price barrier would be to drop it below $300k which would be just plain insanity for this or any market for this type of property unless I was close to forclosure or bankruptcy and had to get rid of it or lose it so I agree with you that price is probably not the issue.
As for price, it seems to me that the only way to break the price barrier would be to drop it below $300k which would be just plain insanity for this or any market for this type of property unless I was close to forclosure or bankruptcy and had to get rid of it or lose it so I agree with you that price is probably not the issue.
Jim, I remember many months ago we had the same conversation. You are still stuck on "price per sq ft" because you paid "X" amount of dollars to build your home. Face it, home values have dropped big time.
If you believe the fundamental concept that the market will tell you if your overpriced, then look in the mirror and ask "What has the market been telling me for the past 9 months?"
This shouldn't be stressing you out because you don't have to sell, correct?
Jim, I remember many months ago we had the same conversation. You are still stuck on "price per sq ft" because you paid "X" amount of dollars to build your home. Face it, home values have dropped big time.
If you believe the fundamental concept that the market will tell you if your overpriced, then look in the mirror and ask "What has the market been telling me for the past 9 months?"
This shouldn't be stressing you out because you don't have to sell, correct?
CJ - From what I remember from Jim's listing in the fall, I think he HAS dropped the price by a substantial amount when he relisted a month or so ago, and now he's in the dead time of year there. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20 and he probably dropped the price a little late. Unfortunately, I don't think his previous agent was advising him with current market conditions during the previous list period.
I think it's important not to panic at this point. If the price is truly right, and there's some real selling points to the house, then it will sell. I frequently see this where a seller comes on the market too high and the house sits. Maybe drops the price a couple of times over the course of the list period. Then a new agent comes along with some "tough love" and the seller realizes he's been priced too high. He then relists at a competitive price, but in a slow market he's still looking at a wait of 3 to 4 months to get a good offer. Of course by this time he's starting to panic, and the next thing you know he drops the price by 15% and suddenly has an offer within a week. (Of course he does because there are sharks lurking.)
My suggestion for a quicker sale (but not a total giveaway) is to drop the price to 5% below the low comps. However if your agent is watching the market like a hawk and you're already priced at the low end, then market aggressively and wait a month or two to see if you get some more interest before dropping the price again.
Thank you CP and GB, just as an aside CP, I do remember our conversations and when I got the new agent we did new comps and he "schooled" me on what was realistic. The thing I think you're missing is while I use sqft price above the price I stated is not based on my cost but on the comps and where we are in relation to them which is about $20 per sqft lower than they are.
That's how the CMA's and pricing are done here. They do the comps, figure out the average sqft price with a high and low and then your agent (if they're good) smacks you with the report a couple of times until you get the fact that this is what you're dealing with bottom line so figure out if you want to sell or not.
We threw out the idea of what the house cost us and are working strictly off the comps but there's quite a bit of inventory. The upside I guess is now I get updates on the traffic that our listing is getting on Realtor.com and for the last month or so it's been runing about 145 hits a week with a big spike last week.
Oh, I have nothing important to add. I just like to follow people's progress in buying/selling their homes. I hope it works out well for you and that this time next year, you'll be in your new location. Rooting for you (PA, I think), leavingbyron (SC, I think), yellowsnow (MN, I think), kickinbackinfl, and NCMommy2-4.
Last edited by virgo; 02-04-2008 at 09:48 PM..
Reason: Content
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