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Old 11-04-2014, 08:48 PM
 
11,337 posts, read 10,993,307 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gray horse View Post
Thanks, I learned to be an entrepeneur from my parents who ran their own commercial / industrial brokerage firm that I had to work at over summers. I have run my own consulting firm for 20 years, just perhaps looking for a change...my software consulting helps corporations manage their RE. I have a background in architecture, construction management, interior design, have built from scratch dealing with cities / counties on permitting, have flipped houses,...and savvy on the computer.

Still there is that stigma, of residential agents being shady, unethical and uneducated....and I have seen many that fit that stigma. Maybe I have been unfortunate in those that have crossed my path.
Don't worry about the losers. Your clients won't be dealing with them.

And you sound very qualified with the right skills and interests to make it work.
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Old 11-04-2014, 11:15 PM
 
9,891 posts, read 11,705,760 times
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I first went into the real estate brokerage in 1972 and stayed in it till I finally retired for good, so I have a little knowledge in the business.

I did an in depth study for current listings, and for sold in your city.

Your price range to $280,000 to $320,000 has a heavy inventory of property for sale when compared to sales with 57 or more homes for sale.

I checked to see how long a lot of them had been listed to find trends. Nearly all of them have been for sale for a year to 3 years. Yours has been for sale for over a year and a half. Some have been for sale for longer than yours has been for sale. This shows there is a tremendous inventory of nicer homes for sale in your city, and little market for them.

I checked the sold homes for over a year, and your price range has not had much in the way of sales, which again reflects the fact that most homes in your price range have been for sale for a year or longer.

I checked the price for sq. ft. for homes in your price range, and found that yours is one of the higher priced homes per sq. ft. and there are homes of what appear to be similar quality homes, that offer more sq. footage, and more features in your price range, for considerably lower per sq. ft. price. This is one thing people buying in your area will be particularly interested in. They will want the most for their money they can get.

I checked the recent sales, and your price range has had very few sales in the last year plus I went back to check. When you quote 90 to 100 days average time on the market, you are talking about all homes, the majority of all sales are far below the price of your home. When checking out homes on the market in your price range, the majority I checked have been for sale a year and more with no sale.

From these observations, don't blame the Realtor for not getting your home sold. Many others in your city and price range are having the same problem. That quality homes simply are not selling.

Questions: Is there a reason, that better quality homes are not selling. There was a big surge in home sales in 2012, and and by 2014 they were selling at half the number of sales, as back in 2012. There has to be a reason. Did a major employer leave, close down, etc.? What is the reason, people quit buying homes in your price range for the past couple of years.

Now is a good time, to get an official appraisal on your home by a licensed appraiser. As any buyer is going to want to get financing on your home, they are going to need an appraisal to get one. It is no time to find a home will not appraise for the asking price, after someone has made an offer on the home subject to getting financing. Appraisal less than sale price no sale is going to close without adjusting sales price.
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Old 11-05-2014, 06:38 AM
 
121 posts, read 152,041 times
Reputation: 81
Quote:
Originally Posted by oh come on! View Post
I think sellers overthink things.

As long as the house is neat and tidy, that's all that matters.

Are we selling the furniture or the house?

Quote:
Originally Posted by oldtrader View Post
I first went into the real estate brokerage in 1972 and stayed in it till I finally retired for good, so I have a little knowledge in the business.

I did an in depth study for current listings, and for sold in your city.

Your price range to $280,000 to $320,000 has a heavy inventory of property for sale when compared to sales with 57 or more homes for sale.

I checked to see how long a lot of them had been listed to find trends. Nearly all of them have been for sale for a year to 3 years. Yours has been for sale for over a year and a half. Some have been for sale for longer than yours has been for sale. This shows there is a tremendous inventory of nicer homes for sale in your city, and little market for them.

I checked the sold homes for over a year, and your price range has not had much in the way of sales, which again reflects the fact that most homes in your price range have been for sale for a year or longer.

I checked the price for sq. ft. for homes in your price range, and found that yours is one of the higher priced homes per sq. ft. and there are homes of what appear to be similar quality homes, that offer more sq. footage, and more features in your price range, for considerably lower per sq. ft. price. This is one thing people buying in your area will be particularly interested in. They will want the most for their money they can get.

I checked the recent sales, and your price range has had very few sales in the last year plus I went back to check. When you quote 90 to 100 days average time on the market, you are talking about all homes, the majority of all sales are far below the price of your home. When checking out homes on the market in your price range, the majority I checked have been for sale a year and more with no sale.

From these observations, don't blame the Realtor for not getting your home sold. Many others in your city and price range are having the same problem. That quality homes simply are not selling.

Questions: Is there a reason, that better quality homes are not selling. There was a big surge in home sales in 2012, and and by 2014 they were selling at half the number of sales, as back in 2012. There has to be a reason. Did a major employer leave, close down, etc.? What is the reason, people quit buying homes in your price range for the past couple of years.

Now is a good time, to get an official appraisal on your home by a licensed appraiser. As any buyer is going to want to get financing on your home, they are going to need an appraisal to get one. It is no time to find a home will not appraise for the asking price, after someone has made an offer on the home subject to getting financing. Appraisal less than sale price no sale is going to close without adjusting sales price.
Thank your for your insight and the time spent; however, some of your information is incorrect. We were on MLS for 10 months, our listing date was Jan 16 2014 and it went off with our agent yesterday. As far as sales in the area, I wonder if some of the information came from different counties? Our city is located in two counties - our area is in a smaller county with lower taxes but still feeds to the most desirable schools. I'm going to share with you closed sales for our neighborhood and the one next to us built by our builder for the last year.
Our Neighborhood has had 16 sales this year, probably 5 were resales the rest new (so were listed longer - didn't sell until after construction was complete) but this is a guess. When we listed we were the only resale, now it is about half and half. There are 8 new homes under construction now and then the neighborhood is finished. The lower priced builder that came in our neighbor is selling at about $98/sq ft and homes by our builder sold at $105 and higher:
Avg Days on Market 175
Avg Listing Price $338,874
Avg Sold Price $333,172
Avg Sold Price per square foot $101.31
One pending sale at $108.55/sq ft
Sold price/sq ft ranged from $89-$115

The neighborhood right across the street was completely built by our builder and the homes are 5-8 years older than us. There were 10 homes sold:
Avg Days on Market 36
Avg Listing Price $294,210
Avg Sold Price $290,220
Avg Sold Price per square foot $105.96
Sold price/sq ft ranged from $98-109

You ask why better homes aren't selling. Our biggest competition is new homes in the same price range, some with three car garages and we have two. They are mass production builders offering large incentives but less quality. Most of our lookers have chosen new over some of the things our home offers such as an almost finished neighborhood, upgraded carpet and granite, built-ins, home that is not a square box on a foundation, raised ceilings, etc.

Last edited by lhall85917; 11-05-2014 at 07:37 AM..
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Old 11-05-2014, 07:30 AM
 
Location: Florida
4,103 posts, read 5,402,169 times
Reputation: 10105
Has your realtor been offering advice that you think is incorrect? Usually in these cases the realtor is right in saying that your home isn't what you think it is. I.E. fixer upper that you expect to sell at the same price as the move in ready next door.
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Old 11-05-2014, 07:33 AM
 
121 posts, read 152,041 times
Reputation: 81
Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguydownsouth View Post
Has your realtor been offering advice that you think is incorrect? Usually in these cases the realtor is right in saying that your home isn't what you think it is. I.E. fixer upper that you expect to sell at the same price as the move in ready next door.
No, it is more that he hasn't offered advice. We have initiated all contact unless it was a request for a showing. We would go a month or more and not hear anything and call to have a "come to Jesus" discussion. More often than not, we would ask if it is a price issue and initiate the price drop. We didn't receive communication with local sales listings, or market updates. His initial advice was incorrect in listing at $330,000 - we were expecting to start lower and did this on his recommendation. When we dropped to $305,900 in June he told us it would be gone in a month.
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Old 11-05-2014, 04:24 PM
 
687 posts, read 911,547 times
Reputation: 2243
Quote:
Originally Posted by lhall85917 View Post
No, it is more that he hasn't offered advice. We have initiated all contact unless it was a request for a showing. We would go a month or more and not hear anything and call to have a "come to Jesus" discussion. More often than not, we would ask if it is a price issue and initiate the price drop. We didn't receive communication with local sales listings, or market updates. His initial advice was incorrect in listing at $330,000 - we were expecting to start lower and did this on his recommendation. When we dropped to $305,900 in June he told us it would be gone in a month.
Your home still isn't what you think it is. Look, you can blame a lot of people for your home not selling, but at the end of the day it comes down to jobs in the vicinity and bang-for-buck pricing. If there is even one better deal out there someone is likely to choose that house over yours. Since there are clearly better deals out in your area that are also not selling...this should be an indicator.

This is one of the "unintended consequences" that have played out when the housing market was inflated. High (artificially high in nominal dollar terms) prices make things harder to sell. The federal reserve has pumped funny money into the economy and inflated equity prices, but the underlying item is of the same quality/quantity. The US government was also complicit when it forced banks to seriously relax lending standards which also pushed prices up, a moral-hazard which was ultimately borne by the taxpayers of this country.

Now people are paying the consequences. Sellers are having a hard time breaking even on their sales at the same time that buyers are having a hard time getting their feet in the door. Bad business for everyone.

Imagine if you'd paid half the price you paid for your home. Now imagine all the interest you wouldn't have paid to the bank, all the PMI not paid, the smaller insurance bill you would've had during the entire time in your home. Sure you'd also have a smaller nominal amount of "equity", but you'd have stashed the money you didn't throw into your house into other vessels.

Keep in mind all of the above, now consider that without the moral hazards you'd probably be able to sell your house for a reasonable price in a somewhat more liquid market where items don't sit on the shelf, so to speak, for months and months going on years.
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Old 11-06-2014, 02:19 AM
 
9,891 posts, read 11,705,760 times
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On your short drive, there are 5 homes for sale 203, 209, 210, 221 and 236 Meadow Wood. The next block over Castle Wood Dr there are 6 homes 115, 126, 131, 160, 162 with one of them a foreclosure. Arbor Wood drive at the end of your street has 7 between 107 and 166, with one a foreclosure. That is 18 in such a small area, that looks like homes are for sale every where you look, and people look at time on the market, and consider it is an overpriced area with people fleeing out of it. Homes are not selling within the first 30 days on the market like in a hot market. They consider that when considering buying. That is how buyers think, and unfortunately agents will use this to sell other homes in reasonably nice areas in town, for less money. That includes new homes, with 3 car garages, of similar size and often larger for the same or less money. They will go after the easier sale. When buyers see so many homes in such a small area for sale, and then look on the listing and see it has been for sale for a long time, they simply shy away from them.

Fact: Then there are lots of brand new homes for sale, and majority of people will buy new before they will buy used especially if they can buy them for less money. They may not have the same features yours has, but most people will not get into your home to compare features. As you have pointed out, 3 car garages are being pushed in new homes, and this one fact alone will make them look good to buyers.

Fact: There is an old saying in real estate, "Always buy the lowest priced home in a upper class neighborhood, never buy the highest priced ones, as the profit at sale will be made on the lower priced one." You have a lot of competition in your town in your price range, and a lot may not be t he same quality as your home, but they look good and that is what appeals to buyers.

Fact: Rarely are homes sold by the listing salesperson, and not often by the listing office. Today buyers want a buyers agent, separate from the listing office, so the agent is representing them not the seller. People are being warned right and left, not to use a duel agent such as the listing agent or the listing office, when buying a home. They are being told, to get an agent from another office. This is something you may want to keep in mind.
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Old 11-06-2014, 03:47 AM
 
121 posts, read 152,041 times
Reputation: 81
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldtrader View Post
On your short drive, there are 5 homes for sale 203, 209, 210, 221 and 236 Meadow Wood. The next block over Castle Wood Dr there are 6 homes 115, 126, 131, 160, 162 with one of them a foreclosure. Arbor Wood drive at the end of your street has 7 between 107 and 166, with one a foreclosure. That is 18 in such a small area, that looks like homes are for sale every where you look, and people look at time on the market, and consider it is an overpriced area with people fleeing out of it. Homes are not selling within the first 30 days on the market like in a hot market. They consider that when considering buying. That is how buyers think, and unfortunately agents will use this to sell other homes in reasonably nice areas in town, for less money. That includes new homes, with 3 car garages, of similar size and often larger for the same or less money. They will go after the easier sale. When buyers see so many homes in such a small area for sale, and then look on the listing and see it has been for sale for a long time, they simply shy away from them.

Fact: Then there are lots of brand new homes for sale, and majority of people will buy new before they will buy used especially if they can buy them for less money. They may not have the same features yours has, but most people will not get into your home to compare features. As you have pointed out, 3 car garages are being pushed in new homes, and this one fact alone will make them look good to buyers.

Fact: There is an old saying in real estate, "Always buy the lowest priced home in a upper class neighborhood, never buy the highest priced ones, as the profit at sale will be made on the lower priced one." You have a lot of competition in your town in your price range, and a lot may not be t he same quality as your home, but they look good and that is what appeals to buyers.

Fact: Rarely are homes sold by the listing salesperson, and not often by the listing office. Today buyers want a buyers agent, separate from the listing office, so the agent is representing them not the seller. People are being warned right and left, not to use a duel agent such as the listing agent or the listing office, when buying a home. They are being told, to get an agent from another office. This is something you may want to keep in mind.
I'm not sure where you got your lidyings. There are 12 actives in my neighborhood, several are under construction. Of the addresses mentioned some have sold - one was my daughters home several months ago.
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Old 11-06-2014, 01:44 PM
 
9,891 posts, read 11,705,760 times
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They are still showing as active listings. If they are sold, when people do a search and find sold ones as active, they can assume they are active.
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Old 11-09-2014, 08:29 PM
 
687 posts, read 911,547 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by harlowvart View Post
I took a look at your photos. I come from a completely different part of the country, so take this opinion with a grain of salt. I found the patterned bed spreads/pillows/curtains/etc jarring. When I looked at a photo of a room, my eyes were drawn to these patterned objects. The new dining room and new breakfast room photos are much better. I think you are on the right track with those.

The price did seem high to me just browsing through listings - I am not saying it is, just that it seemed that way to me because there are others selling for 10% less that seem about the same. Is there anything that distinguishes your house from the others that are suggested when someone browses your house? If you look at listings of houses like yours that sold quickly, is there anything in those that's different from yours?

I think the agent you hire should answer those questions for you. I don't think marketing the house to buyers by buying ad space sounds very effective. How would the agent change your photos and listing to make the house seem more desirable?
It's not so much that. Fairly normal in the South and mid-Atlantic here. I am wondering why the master bedroom was changed. That green strip between the mouldings at the top of the wall was a great accent. Why did that go away? Maybe it's just the angle or the color change from the phones though.

I'm also not sure how removing curtains helps, which is the only change I can see in the dining area. No curtains to me makes the place look like a sterile apartment. I'm 28 and I like your curtains and the bedspreads.

Condition is fantastic. I'm not even sure price is necessarily out of whack though either without knowing other factors. What's the job market like in your area? It literally could be that people are just not moving to the area or not sticking around. If population is declining that's not good when you're trying to sell. If population is stagnant and there's new supply then that leads to the same problem. Honestly I'd buy a house in a condition like that.

(ok, you've shown us the good pictures...how about what you're not showing?, come on now!)
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