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Today's market is tough and I am feeling it. I have a beautiful single family home in North East Raleigh...everyone that has seen it has said they really love it... but no serious buyers yet....just a bunch of investors with insulting offers......great location...with community pool and tennis courts.....it has been on the market for 42 days...I have only had 4 realtor showings in 42 days.......I am going crazy trying to figure out what else can be done to get some showings.....Open houses brings more neighbors than real buyers..."just lookers". Its posted online on several websites....no luck...it is listed with a RE Company and is on the MLS but....still no luck......We are flexible and are motivated to sell. WHAT ARE THE SECRETS TO REALTOR SHOWINGS... OR TO GET SERIOUS BUYERS?? I NEED IDEAS FAST!!!
I'm writing this purely from a buyer's perspective...
Are the pictures good? I mean, really good? I see a lot of listings with fuzzy pictures or pictures that have a strange angle and are hard to figure out. Personally, that makes the house less appealing than one with a lot of great crisp, clear pictures.
Is the house in good condition? Inside and out? I'm talking aesthetics as well as structure. Dirty carpet, clutter, stuffed closets and toys all over the place always make me cringe when I see a house. If that's the case, maybe rent a POD and take our half your things. There are also professional stagers that could help with that.
Is it priced appropriately? Maybe make a few calls to other agents and get some feedback on your price. I've turned down a couple brought to me by my agent lately just based on the price - even though he said we could probably get it for far less and the seller was just listing too high, I'm not interested in all that.
Seriously, this is all just based on my experience shopping for homes and reasons why I ignore some houses that might be perfectly good once I go see them and use my imagination. There are some knowledgeable real estate folks on here that will help you far more!
Thank you.....your comments are very much appreciated. I had very positive realtor reviews.... it is staged and is priced right based on the reviews I got...so I am just at a lost for why I am not getting any traffic....its almost as if I will need to give it away to get traffic....I sent you a direct message with the picture and pricing info take a look at that and let me know your thoughts. Thanks.
--Raleighgal
We're just in a slow market right now period. Also, being that your house is located in NE Raleigh also might have something to do with it, as there are tons of houses on the market there right now. I'd keep up the good work on keeping it show worthy and hopefully you'll have some more foot traffic soon, since it's now spring and more buyers will probably be coming out to see what's available. Good luck.
The market value on houses is not static. Your house is worth what someone is willing to pay. If the market value of your house has decreased, that does not mean you are giving it away. The price that seems like a giveaway today maybe more than you can get in a few months. Comparables from a few months ago may not be comparable any more. I don't know how much your realtor is doing to market your house, but try to find houses in your neighborhood or similar that have sold or are under contract (not just listings). If you really need to sell, you may need to accept a lower price.
If you're not getting the traffic, and you're already on MLS, then you're probably not priced right. Buyers will look at LP to determine what houses they want to see, and then decided based on what they see, whether to make an offer. If you're not getting showings, then you may not be priced right. Have your agent take you to go check out your competition.
Raleighgal,
Your situation (wonderful home, great neighborhood) sounds similar in general to our situation when we listed our house in Florida in June 2007. We were on a moderate (not the fanciest in town) golfcourse, in a cute and very well taken care of little house along the 9th tee, great neigborhood, amenties, etc. and low HOA fee. But it took us 6 months to get an offer. We kept the house looking top shade, everything perfectly manacured, replanted flowers when needed, and just hung tough. We bought ads in northern papers (thinking snowbirds) and Canada, but ultimately the right buyers just came along one day- young couple who'd been renting (yes, our house was on the low end in the community--- zero lot line, etc). Hang in there. Alot of folks definitely feel for what you're going through. Hoping that you don't have yours on nearly as long as we had ours on.
Mike
One of the phrases that a lot of realtors around here like to say....If there aren't a lot of showings, then the realtors think it's overpriced and if you have showings but no offers, then the buyers think it's overpriced.
Because you have not had a lot of showings, I would say that it's possible that it is slightly overpriced for the market. When I say the market, it's not that your home might not be worth that amount in and of itself, but with a full inventory of new and resale homes, it might be priced a little high to make it sell quickly.
Best advice I can give is to continue keeping your home as nice as you are now, and to make sure that the price is at the low end of the available homes like yours. I know what you mean about feeling like your giving your home away, it's a very fine line when you are trying to sell your home quickly!
I'll be straight forward with you so be prepared. Since your house is listed on MLS and you are not getting traffic and offers then your house is priced too high. Period. It may be overpriced due to the current market or overpriced due to condition. But the bottom line is it's overpriced. It's only been on the market for 42 days. That's not that long. If you can afford to sit on it for a while then you eventually might get what you are wanting. But if you need to get out of it then you need to lower your asking price.
As stated if you do not get a lot of showings it usually means that Realtors or buyers looking in your area/features/price range are choosing not to view your home. If the home is in good shape and the photos show that then the other reason its usally crossed off the list is price.
Open houses usually attract more neighbors than serious buyers from what I have always heard. They can serve a purpose in some special homes or communities but overall the average buyer likes going with their Realtor when the listing agent and other prospects aren't running around in the home.
40 days also does not seem that long. I am not a Realtor and do not know what is typical in your area, but ask your Realtor what the average days on market is in your subdivision or area. Getting the home on the MLS and online really is the big step, so if you are in a hurry you may need to start looking at price and/or buyer incentives.
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trying to figure out what else can be done to get some showings.....Open houses brings more neighbors than real buyers..."just lookers". Its posted online on several websites....no luck...it is listed with a RE Company and is on the MLS but....still no luck......We are flexible and are motivated to sell. WHAT ARE THE SECRETS TO REALTOR SHOWINGS... OR TO GET SERIOUS BUYERS?? I NEED IDEAS FAST!!!
Thank You
