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FWIW OP, 1 showing in 4 weeks (assuming it was on MLS all 4 weeks) is poor unless you're a very rural property. I would say you need more like a 20k price drop.
This. The search parameter thing is probably true, but I doubt there's THAT many people that stop at $220K, it usually seems to be increments of $25K, so dropping it to $200,00 might make a big difference.
Is it normal in your area for listing agents to be at showings on ~$200K houses? I think in a lot of areas it's not (and even less common for the seller of a non-FSBO to be there...)
Not putting it on the MLS is a big mistake though. How are the pictures?
I think you're misunderstanding the $220k cut off. Many people who are approved to $200k might look up to $203-205k (maybe $207k, but probably not as high as $210k) and see if they can find something that they can negotiate to $200k or under.
People approved to $210-215k might be looking just slightly over that price up to $220k to check inventory and maybe negotiate. In many markets, if you approved to $210-215k, you're not going to look up to $225k because the seller is already over the psychological barrier of where they think the house could go, and at $223-225k, a buyer might think the seller won't come down to their qualified level so they don't bother with it.
The buyer approved to $220k will see your house at $223-225k because again, they'll look a couple over their price. There are many more buyers approved below $220k than up to $225k when you're talking about a price in a market that only had 1 showing in a 4 week period.
I don't know that its 3,000 dollars so much as the search engine. People put in their top price and dont see anything over it. But if you put it just below the next lowest search engine cutoff you get a whole new set of lookers. People have to use a number, 220,000 vs. 225 may seem like not much but where does it stop?
One showing in 4 weeks points to something people don't like about the property. It is either priced way too high, is in poor condition, is way out of date and needs remodeling, is in a bad location where people that can actually get approved for mortgages do not want to live so it is more in a rental market area or it is full of your junk and needs to be cleaned out and staged properly.
In the current home market, an idiot could sell a nice house at the right price so I seriously doubt the problem is the agent.
Listed for a week before it showed up on the MLS? That right there would have had me chewing nails. Please tell me the photos weren't taken with her phone . . .
I think you need a "come to Jesus" meeting with your agent regarding your expectations on communications. For the record, I don't believe a $3K drop is going to lure anyone out of the woodwork. For a typical home in a typical neighborhood/area, one showing in a month is pathetic. Either it means there's something wrong with the location or the house - or, no one knows it's for sale . . . ?
Tell your agent you want to see comparables for the last six months, complete with Days on Market data that support her claim that homes that are under $220K are "flying off the shelves". At this point, her credibility is shot, so be prepared to bring a critical eye to the meeting -- and it wouldn't hurt to do a little research on your own, either.
Listed for a week before it showed up on the MLS? That right there would have had me chewing nails. Please tell me the photos weren't taken with her phone . . .
I think you need a "come to Jesus" meeting with your agent regarding your expectations on communications. For the record, I don't believe a $3K drop is going to lure anyone out of the woodwork. For a typical home in a typical neighborhood/area, one showing in a month is pathetic. Either it means there's something wrong with the location or the house - or, no one knows it's for sale . . . ?
Tell your agent you want to see comparables for the last six months, complete with Days on Market data that support her claim that homes that are under $220K are "flying off the shelves". At this point, her credibility is shot, so be prepared to bring a critical eye to the meeting -- and it wouldn't hurt to do a little research on your own, either.
Yes, actually putting her on notice that you expect her to put some work into it would be a good move, especially if she's just tossing random figures off the top of her head, and has failed to list your property with various venues in a timely manner. I'd be interested to hear her reaction, when you tell her you require her to back up her claims with some analysis and documentation. If she balks, you can tell her you won't be needing her services anymore.
Well, in the agents defense (and Im not saying keep her) you said she "relies heavily on text messages". You also say she never communicates. Texting is communicating.
I dont think she's saying that $3000 makes a huge difference, she is saying that people have set parameters when they are searching for a house online. Its like listing a house for $203,000 vs. $199,999. Not much difference, but the $199k brings in more people searching.
Actually, what I said was "She never communicates with us to keep us updated and relies heavily on text messages." Keywords there: TO KEEP US UPDATED.
And, yes, she actually DID say "will make a huge difference". Verbatim. Scout's honor.
Did you hear something different? Oh, that's right...you weren't there.
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