showings (Durham, Cary, Holly Springs: cul-de-sac, houses, landscaping)

[ADVentive]

My house has been listed since March 2 and I haven't had any showings yet. My realtor does not seem at all worried about this, but I guess I am nervous anyway. I was wondering what you guys think is typical in the area as far as

1) how quickly you should get showings once you are listed
2) how often you get showings
3) how many showings you typically get before you sell

I live in Durham and I think that my house is priced right at $160K because there is an identical house in our neighborhood that was listed for that price and sold for 158K about 2 months ago and there is another identical house that is currently listed for $165K.

[speedkelly]

Not sure if I should comment on this one!....maybe?...oversupply?....best of luck let us know how you get on.
From what I have seen in durham 90 days on the market is pretty normal.

[MikeJaquish]

If you are motivated to sell, price vs. perceived value is the key.
If you are not motivated to sell, then everything after this is moot.

If people are not even looking, look at color, curb appeal, condition, and surroundings.
People are extremely emotional, to the point of being petty, about color. If your agent told you that you need to neutralize and you didn't, then you might have missed the bus. Buyers just don't want to paint more than a room or two, or they want a wholesale price.

If your home needs visual improvement for curb appeal, then get it done.
Do the MLS photos show a lot of clutter? If so, clear it out.

Did you have it inspected before you put it on the market, and work off any gigs? That is a great advertising bone to throw out.

When you compare to other homes, are you on a slope, backing to a nuisance, etc?

And this is the time when more homes are hitting the market. Look at the current competition as much as what your neighbors did. Can the Buying public do better somewhere else because of what is available? You can try to fix that with updates to your home, or with updates to the price, or both.

To answer your questions:
1. If it is priced right, it will show the first day. I put one on the market in Cary today, with nine showings the first day.

2. After that, showings come as they do. The first day the home pops up on the screens for people who are looking for something that fits the description. After that, it is often people who just started looking, and that can ebb and flow. I expect to have showings over the weekend if no contract by then.

3. I expect to sell that listing with few showings. I recently sold one that took 58 showings. Price vs. perceived value determines the number of prospects to find the buyers who will make an offer.

Good luck!

[ducter]

regardless of market conditions, thats only a couple of days. I would wait at least a month before questioning/ changing anything. Spring is just around the corner so that always helps the market.

[MikeJaquish]

Ducter,
You are right to a point.
Spring is right now.
Activity has busted open.

[DebbieF]

I showed a house the other day in Holly Springs, and they had 6 showings the first day, and 4 of them were offers. One of them was mine,and sad to say we didn't get it. We went over the asking price, and the offer they accepted was substantially over that. Oh well we keep looking, wasn't meant to be. Mike your right about activity being busted open. Busy time of year. If you see something you like, don't wait.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by DebbieF

We went over the asking price, and the offer they accepted was substantially over that.

Wow! That must have been some house. Is it unusual for homes to sell for more than list price in that area? Was there something exceptional about the location of this particular house? I'm real sorry you didn't get it .

[Erin1264]

Another poster that says "don't worry."

The last thing a seller wants to hear about is other houses that flew off the market!

We just went through the process of selling and the showings were very cyclical. We'd get several in a week and then two weeks would go by with none.

You've been on the market less than a week and the beautiful springtime weather is coming, so be patient. Our home showed very well and we received feedback that told us this. After a while, I realized that my stress would not change the market and I stopped worrying about it because it was out of my control.

I recommend that you look at what the realtors have written in terms of getting your house into shape. Is the curb appeal good? Do you have nice pictures posted online? How about a virtual tour? I was always more likely to see homes that I had previously viewed pictures of. The photos and virtual tour piqued my interest.

Good luck! It will happen!

Erin

[ADVentive]

Thanks for the responses. It has been less than a week, but I guess I thought that people would come the first weekend, especially because it was a pretty nice weekend. Maybe they will come this weekend. Thinking positive!

We did repaint our purple bedroom to a neutral color and we put in all new carpets. We have landscaping in the front yard and put down new mulch and I think it looks pretty good. We feel like we moved half of our stuff into my in-laws' house to de-clutter. We fixed everything we can think of to fix and repainted the front door and replaced the door hardware. We feel like we worked hard to get the house into good shape. When we look at other houses as buyers we always think that we would have painted this or fixed that and that we are good sellers. I may be biased, but I think we did a pretty good job of prepping the house. Our driveway is on a slope, but there's nothing we can really do about that. We are on the cul-de-sac and back to other houses in the subdivision, but we have a wooded area within our fence that acts as a nice barrier (in my opinion). People seem to either love or hate our back yard because it's part lawn and part wooded, but I guess that's just personal opinion.

The realtor has taken many pictures and we do have a virtual tour and a website and all that and I think it all looks great. I guess that's why I wonder why nobody has come yet. I guess I'm probably just eager. I am happy with my realtor, I just want people to come! As a seller who loves my house, I feel like if a buyer just sees my house, of course they will want it! Probably all sellers feel like that.

[MikeJaquish]

Sounds like you are primed.
It only takes one buyer, and I hope you get yours soon.

Good Luck!