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I am in the process of trying to sell a house for a relative and I can't figure out why it's not showing, so I figured I would ask the experts on the forum.
The house was listed about 35 days ago. The first week, we had two showings… and nothing since then. On day 30, we lowered the price (from 199,900 to 189,900). Still no showings. The realtor did a CMA which said we are a tad overpriced but advised against lowering it to $185 just yet (he said the CMA is about 175-185). The house is spotless, half of the furniture is gone, the yard is nice, the neighborhood is a cul de sac. I'm guessing the problem is the general area is working class for CT and the schools are below average for the area. We just set up an open house for Sunday.
Anyway sorry to blab…any ideas what I can do to generate showings? I've been sharing on Facebook, trying to spread by word of mouth and might lower the price more, but again the realtor advised against dropping it too soon.
All real estate is local, so things could be different there, but where Im at, we have been going through a significant drop off in showings since school let out. People are more worried about vacations then buying a house. Its just started picking back up a bit this past week... so give it a little more time.
I am in the process of trying to sell a house for a relative and I can't figure out why it's not showing, so I figured I would ask the experts on the forum.
The house was listed about 35 days ago. The first week, we had two showings… and nothing since then. On day 30, we lowered the price (from 199,900 to 189,900). Still no showings. The realtor did a CMA which said we are a tad overpriced but advised against lowering it to $185 just yet (he said the CMA is about 175-185). The house is spotless, half of the furniture is gone, the yard is nice, the neighborhood is a cul de sac. I'm guessing the problem is the general area is working class for CT and the schools are below average for the area. We just set up an open house for Sunday.
Anyway sorry to blab…any ideas what I can do to generate showings? I've been sharing on Facebook, trying to spread by word of mouth and might lower the price more, but again the realtor advised against dropping it too soon.
Any Ideas??
Was the CMA developed from closed sales specifically in the school district the house is in?
I.e., are the schools priced in?
If not, and you are at the high end of the range the CMA suggests, you are overpriced.
Are the photos good to excellent, or are they diminishing the appeal and turning off potential buyers?
Is the detailed write up engaging and upbeat, or downbeat?
In your price point, people do not search in $25k increments. It's more like $5-10k increments. If it comps out at $175k and you were at $200k, you blew it for the first set of showings. Lowering to $190k still isn't capturing those buyers because you're still too far from what they're looking at. You need to get to $175k or $180k if you want to actually get new buyers to the house, otherwise it's the same buyers who already saw it listed and didn't want to negotiate the price lower knowing you're already too overpriced to deal with.
Was the CMA developed from closed sales specifically in the school district the house is in?
I.e., are the schools priced in?
If not, and you are at the high end of the range the CMA suggests, you are overpriced.
Are the photos good to excellent, or are they diminishing the appeal and turning off potential buyers?
Is the detailed write up engaging and upbeat, or downbeat?
Yeah the CMA was based on recently sold (2 months) houses in the district. Homes similar to this one have an average closing price of $183k according to my agent.
I don't know what good/excellent/diminishing photos are…do you mean professional vs standard? If so, the photos are standard taken by the agent with a digital camera…
I spoke to another realtor acquaintance and she said it's a dead time to buy…and even houses priced well aren't selling. She did have one house sell in a week but said it was priced 10k below the CMA. I hope she's right, don't want to be that guy sitting on the market for 100 days.
I also think part of the problem is this town the house is in is not viewed warmly in the area...
In your price point, people do not search in $25k increments. It's more like $5-10k increments. If it comps out at $175k and you were at $200k, you blew it for the first set of showings. Lowering to $190k still isn't capturing those buyers because you're still too far from what they're looking at. You need to get to $175k or $180k if you want to actually get new buyers to the house, otherwise it's the same buyers who already saw it listed and didn't want to negotiate the price lower knowing you're already too overpriced to deal with.
Thats what I figured…I lowered it 10k last week and thought maybe I'd get at least ONE or TWO people…but nothing. So I called my realtor and asked about lowering it to 185 or 180 and he said to hold off and wait another few weeks… open house is sunday...
Yeah the CMA was based on recently sold (2 months) houses in the district. Homes similar to this one have an average closing price of $183k according to my agent.
I don't know what good/excellent/diminishing photos are…do you mean professional vs standard? If so, the photos are standard taken by the agent with a digital camera…
I spoke to another realtor acquaintance and she said it's a dead time to buy…and even houses priced well aren't selling. She did have one house sell in a week but said it was priced 10k below the CMA. I hope she's right, don't want to be that guy sitting on the market for 100 days.
Look at other listings, and see if your photos are comparable, better or worse.
The photos have only one purpose: To get people in the door. They serve no other function, so they need to be no worse than the other guys'. And, people aren't coming in the door.
I don't think the photos need to be done by a professional photographer, but they should be clearly focused, show the house, no flash blast, no open toilets, neat house, etc.
Look at other listings, and see if your photos are comparable, better or worse.
The photos have only one purpose: To get people in the door. They serve no other function, so they need to be no worse than the other guys'. And, people aren't coming in the door.
I don't think the photos need to be done by a professional photographer, but they should be clearly focused, show the house, no flash blast, no open toilets, neat house, etc.
Gotcha… I'll send you the listing via PM and maybe you can critique...
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