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So my house has been on the market for 4 months now...we have gone down in price $15k during that time...we had one offer that fell apart due to flakey buyers....so now we are switching realtors from a discount broker to a full service national company. My question is this....the new realtor says that our house is under priced for the area and wants to increase the price....I am very nervous about that because if our house was underpriced, wouldnt it have sold already? She says that with her marketing and open houses, etc., that she will get our house sold. So we agreed to go up $5k on list price from where we are now. Do you think that is a wise move? I mean, in my opinion, if I were looking for a house and one day was looking at a house and it was one price and then the next day it was relisted with a new agent at a higher price, I would wonder what the heck was going on...but my agent says that $5k doesnt really mean a whole lot at our price...our house is currently at 369,900 and she wants to list it at 374,900. What do you think? Thanks for your help.
Has your agent provided you with a Market Analysis including similar homes in your area that have sold? She should have some hard numbers and documentation to justify her recommended price.
Keep in mind all real estate is local but if something is generally under market then you should be getting people in the door. With an agents aggresive marketing, etc and an underpriced home and the home in great condition can lead you to multiple offers. But also because it has been on the market for 4 months, the offers you get in may be lower so by increasing the pricing slightly the lower offers that come in may be closer to your asking price.
Make sure to tell your agent you are expectations with the higher price and if you are getting the showings, etc then discuss together what is the best next step.
So my house has been on the market for 4 months now...we have gone down in price $15k during that time...we had one offer that fell apart due to flakey buyers....so now we are switching realtors from a discount broker to a full service national company. My question is this....the new realtor says that our house is under priced for the area and wants to increase the price....I am very nervous about that because if our house was underpriced, wouldnt it have sold already? She says that with her marketing and open houses, etc., that she will get our house sold. So we agreed to go up $5k on list price from where we are now. Do you think that is a wise move? I mean, in my opinion, if I were looking for a house and one day was looking at a house and it was one price and then the next day it was relisted with a new agent at a higher price, I would wonder what the heck was going on...but my agent says that $5k doesnt really mean a whole lot at our price...our house is currently at 369,900 and she wants to list it at 374,900. What do you think? Thanks for your help.
I have no idea of what type of marketing the discount service did for you, if any, or what the market is in your area.
Your new realtor should provide you with a CMA to back up her price. She should also provide you with a detail list of how she will market the home.
The $5,000 in this case is a non-issue as I see it. She kept it below $375k which is a search point. She did keep it in the range of where buyers looking of a home in your price range will find it. Had she took the price to $376k, then she would have lost many buyers looking for a $350 to $375k range. She would have had you at the bottom range of a $375 to $400k range and the buyers may be actually looking for a home that has more features than yours.
The search points are important because you want the people to find your home who are looking for a home in that price range.
If the house is underpriced, then I do wonder why you weren't getting traffic.
Did the discount service have you listed on the MLS?
Is your home in great showing condition?
Is it in a good location?
You should ask a lot of questions of the new realtor to find out why she thinks the home did not sell if it was underpriced.
You would probably get a lot more "hits" on your property at $349,900.
And she would get alot more at $100,000.
She would have it sold in a day at $50,000.
Then again she may want an answer to her original question.
BFLO
As stated by Cathy, take a look at the CMA or ,if they can do one, a Price Trend Analysis.
The PTA will show where the prices have gove from 12 months back, 6 months back and present and will then give you a good idea of where they are heading.
You will want to price it ahead of the trend so if the trend shows $380 try $370, if it says $370 try $360.
You have already had one offer so you know that your price is close to where it should be.
There shouldn't be a significant difference in the 2 prices because it's the same range. I don't know what marketing was done before so I think that would be important to know before giving you a solid answer. If you weren't getting hits at 369 though, and it was at least on MLS, I can't imagine raising the price would be a good thing.
For every property there is a market value and a marketing value.
The market value is what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller.
The marketing value is what would attract the most showings and therefore offers.
If you under price, you theoretically create a bidding war.
If you right price it you get a fair offer, but it might take months.
Since you hired a REP, a ILD (website aggregators) or an MLS (agent) search will get the most "hits" at a price point break. $375,000 will get more hits than $369. Because, people search both to $375,000 and from $375,000. It's rare that you will find a search from $369,000.
Be very careful that your new agent is not "buying the listing" making your mouth water at the prospect of getting more money, only to ask for a future price reduction. I'd give it two weeks. Your goal should be to get the property sold, not get it onto the market.
Then again she may want an answer to her original question.
BFLO
As stated by Cathy, take a look at the CMA or ,if they can do one, a Price Trend Analysis.
The PTA will show where the prices have gove from 12 months back, 6 months back and present and will then give you a good idea of where they are heading.
You will want to price it ahead of the trend so if the trend shows $380 try $370, if it says $370 try $360.
You have already had one offer so you know that your price is close to where it should be.
Good luck.
Gee thanks Richard.
I believe the OP had to do with pricing did it not? It sounds like the OP is going with some agents "song & dance" instead of following her gut.
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