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I am not really part of this conversation but what I get from home owners is they think something they have is special. Everyone or should I say a lot of people think their home is special and worth more then what its really worth. I understand this as we all want to have something great but its just not the truth and sometimes its best to understand this.
There are always houses for sale where owners are simply 'testing the market to see what the house is worth, but, really don't intend to sell below their often delusional value point. (Some sellers seem to be locked-into a 2005-2008 'time warp.')
Such houses invariably stay on the market until the sellers finally drop the price. In turn, Realtors tend to 'use' them to create a sense of greater value for other more reasonably priced houses they are trying to sell. (If you don't mind repeatedly showing your house for this purpose, other realtors will appreciate it).
These days, sellers and buyers have access to as much data as they need to pretty clearly establish the value of any property. Like it or not, the RE market determines the selling price of houses, not an owner's emotional attachment or perceived value-added features. Ironically, even if an ill-informed buyer agrees to an inflated price, the bank will still not approve a mortgage above the appraised price.
3-weeks isn't that long and you may get a higher offer. Nevertheless, every buyer at least deserves the courtesy of a response to a formal offer (or even a counter ... eg; 'appraised price') -- Such an exchange will make you a better informed seller. If you are seriously unwilling to sell the property below full asking price, it's only fair that you CLEARLY inform your Realtor, so they can choose to adjust their time/effort accordingly. It's still a buyer's market in most parts of the country and almost every buyer expects some 'wiggle room' in the price, ... if for no other reason than to feel like they are in a 'win-win transaction.'
I'm the one who said I'm listing in Sept. I'm still unsure how to price it. I am afraid if I price it "realistically", I'll get lowballed, but if I price it a bit higher, the lowball will be higher. Get what I mean? The agent has given me an extensive CMA but it's difficult to sort through, with all those pages. So now I'm doing my own spreadsheet with "solds" and "actives". I'm going to look at how my competition is priced and price accordingly. Then, if I get any offers, I'll have to look at the "solds" to see what's realistic.
The realtor should have showed you the price per sq foot for comparable homes. I'd focus on that, because those are hard numbers. Also, you have to trust your realtor. If you don't, please find one you do trust, even if you have to interview 20. If you don't trust your realtor to give you good recs, then you will have a hard time with trust during any negotiations that may ensue after receiving an offer.
When we sold last year, we did have to reduce our price before we got a serious offer. The market decides this. What your house is really worth is largely out of your hands. But too high a price will decrease the number of lookers.
If you are seriously unwilling to sell the property below full asking price, it's only fair that you CLEARLY inform your Realtor, so they can choose to adjust their time/effort accordingly.
During the 3 months I am not lowering my LISTING price (please see my first post). Of course I will negotiate. I don't think my Realtor is investing much time into my house. What is she supposed to be doing and spending so much time on? The home is listed and marketing has been done. Now we go on about our lives.
Goodness, as already stated, my Realtor is CLEARLY fully aware of my intentions and we are both good to go. My Realtor isn't suffering or overworking....it's all good...I promise.
Last edited by diddlydudette; 08-19-2013 at 02:25 PM..
See, the thing is, if your LISTING price is WAY off, no serious buyers are going to make an offer that you even can negotiate. Most likely you will get people who will "throw out" an "insultingly low" offer that you will reject in a huff.
If it's close to a realistic price, you get a couple of offers, get into a bidding war, and end up with MORE than your list price. It probably will be an amount that is very close to what you actually want for the house. But listing it high and negotiating "downwards" does not work in the sellers's favor.
Real estate can get personal and people can fall in love with houses, but the reality is that it is about NUMBERS, and your market is telling you that your number is off.
And your agent shouldn't just list the house and then relax for 3 months. Your agent can "sell" your house every day by posting in online Realtor communities, talking it up at community functions they hopefully are attending, mentioning it to every seller they represent. It's about networking, just like with people.
See, the thing is, if your LISTING price is WAY off, no serious buyers are going to make an offer that you even can negotiate. Most likely you will get people who will "throw out" an "insultingly low" offer that you will reject in a huff.
If it's close to a realistic price, you get a couple of offers, get into a bidding war, and end up with MORE than your list price. It probably will be an amount that is very close to what you actually want for the house. But listing it high and negotiating "downwards" does not work in the sellers's favor.
Real estate can get personal and people can fall in love with houses, but the reality is that it is about NUMBERS, and your market is telling you that your number is off.
And your agent shouldn't just list the house and then relax for 3 months. Your agent can "sell" your house every day by posting in online Realtor communities, talking it up at community functions they hopefully are attending, mentioning it to every seller they represent. It's about networking, just like with people.
Like I said, I believe she is going on about her life.....doing her regular thing. I would think if every time she goes to a function and talks about her houses in trying to sell them, people would stop inviting her places or avoid her because she's like a old car salesman always trying to get your business.
It's good to be out there and be known to people in what you do to get business but that's just a part of the job and going on about your business.
If she gets a lot of clients from attending church where people know her and know that she is a realtor, then great. She continues to go to church like she would even if not a realtor.
If she is active in the community and people knew she was a realtor and people asked her about homes. Sure she would tell them if she had one they might be interested in, That's great but then, that's just a part of who she is....going on with her life but I don't think she goes around advertising all the homes she has for sale and handing out pamphlets.
Posting on an online community doesn't seem too time consuming and nothing that would take up much time from day to day. That seems like part of marketing and nothing day to day.
I don't think she is out on the streets with a sandwich board pacing and ringing a bell trying to bring people in.
Any networking she is doing isn't just because of my house, that is just something that's good for all realtors and something that my Realtor does anyway. I feel sure if I took my house off the market, she would still be networking and going to events, church, etc.
Last edited by diddlydudette; 08-19-2013 at 04:51 PM..
I got a good offer today so hopefully inspection goes smoothly and no hiccups then everything will be good. This was my 3rd offer...third time is the charm.
This was my 3rd offer after about 12 viewings and 26 days of being on the market. The past 2 weekends I had no viewings at all so things seemed to be slowing down. But this past Tuesday, I had 2 viewings.
The first 2 offers that were made on my house were very low and deals I couldn't agree to. The house was listed on the higher end of the range of what houses sell for in my neighborhood but still in the range and after the first 2 low offers I was beginning to feel like it just wasn't going to happen and I wouldn't get what I wanted out of my house.
Then yesterday I get an offer and it is very low and I tossed back something that I knew they wouldn't like. I didn't move much. They countered with a very low offer as their best and final and I didn't even bother countering because it was still lower than I could agree to. I told my realtor that we're just too far off. I didn't expect a response back at all but they responded back this evening and they practically met me where I needed to be so my house in under contract. I got 12.00 more per sq ft than the average of houses in my neighborhood so I'm thankful for that. I gave hope a chance. :-) Hopefully inspection goes well....crossing fingers.
My realtor and I had a talk just yesterday about maybe I would not get the price I was asking and maybe we would need to lower. I told her I would probably just take it off the market after the 3 months and just stay put. You just never know....
Last edited by diddlydudette; 08-22-2013 at 06:49 PM..
I got a good offer today so hopefully inspection goes smoothly and no hiccups then everything will be good. This was my 3rd offer...third time is the charm.
This was my 3rd offer after about 12 viewings and 26 days of being on the market. The past 2 weekends I had no viewings at all so things seemed to be slowing down. But this past Tuesday, I had 2 viewings.
The first 2 offers that were made on my house were very low and deals I couldn't agree to. The house was listed on the higher end of the range of what houses sell for in my neighborhood but still in the range and after the first 2 low offers I was beginning to feel like it just wasn't going to happen and I wouldn't get what I wanted out of my house.
Then yesterday I get an offer and it is very low and I tossed back something that I knew they wouldn't like. I didn't move much. They countered with a very low offer as their best and final and I didn't even bother countering because it was still lower than I could agree to. I told my realtor that we're just too far off. I didn't expect a response back at all but they responded back this evening and they practically met me where I needed to be so my house in under contract. I got 12.00 more per sq ft than the average of houses in my neighborhood so I'm thankful for that. I gave hope a chance. :-) Hopefully inspection goes well....crossing fingers.
My realtor and I had a talk just yesterday about maybe I would not get the price I was asking and maybe we would need to lower. I told her I would probably just take it off the market after the 3 months and just stay put. You just never know....
My house has been on the market 3 weeks now. It had some traffic the first couple of weeks but now things have come almost to a halt. I did have someone look at it this past Monday though.
Last weekend I had no one looking and so far this weekend no calls to view it.
I could have sold it, but I don't have to sell and not willing to take a low ball offer. The house is priced comparatively to other homes in my neighborhood so I won't lower the listing price. I know I could and I know I could then sell it but right now I'm not willing to.
I hear realtors say all the time that the first weeks after being listed is when you get the most action and then things slow down. Why is that? Is it because the same buyers have been looking for awhile and they see a new listing and they all want to see it hence all the traffic coming in at once? That would make sense.
But wouldn't there always be new potential buyers deciding to look later down the road after your house was listed and this would bring you some traffic to your home also? Don't different buyers look at different times? Why would it be expected, if I did need to sell it, to lower the price just because the potential buyers on the market right when I listed my house did not make good offers? Does that necessarily mean later on new potential buyers won't make a good offer?
For instance let's say in 2 months from now a new buyer goes to a realtor site and sees your home listed and really likes the looks of it and wants to view it. They see it's been on the market for 3 months. Is that telling them your house is overpriced and they will low ball you thinking you need to sell? What other reasons is it bad to have your house on the market for a longer period of time and when should you just give in and un-list it and just wait it out for later?
Let's say for example I keep it on the market at the same price for 6 months total. What are the odds that I might get the price I want later down the road? How often have you seen that happen or is it extremely rare?
I haven't read through every post on this thread, but here's my two cents:
1. Your home went on sale during the last weeks of summer. People don't want to look at homes during this period. They want to enjoy the great outdoors. Most buyers with kids have probably found their homes by now and are settling into their new communities awaiting the start of the school year.
2. You have to be patient and wait for the right buyer. I put my home on the market in 2009 and got barely a nibble. I put it back on in mid- 2012 and, from listing to final sale, it took 13 months. We ended up with a good price and a nice profit after we used some of the proceeds to buy our current home. The market is what it is.
3. I would just caution that if you think your home is so desirable that it should be sold in three weeks, then you could have a problem down the road when it comes to negotiations. One of the worst obstacles to a sale is a seller who thinks his/her property is way better or more valuable than it really is. Be realistic about the pluses and minuses of your home so that it is priced fairly. As you wait for buyers, use some of that time to check out similar homes that are for sale or have recently sold in your area. That way, you'll get a good idea of your best listing price and your bottom price without being bamboozled by real estate agents who want you to sell for a lowball figure.
4. Play out how you will negotiate with a buyer between your listing price and your bottom price. If you go through too many stages and your reductions from the listing price are too small, then you might get your buyers so frustrated that they will walk. At a certain point in our negotiations, we finally said we would stop playing games and take nothing less than our bottom price. The buyers finally agreed.
5. Understand your buyers. As soon as we knew who was bidding on our home, I checked them out to see their financial status, whether they had kids, whether they were boaters or swimmers (we lived in a beach community), etc., etc. Through some homework on the web and by talking to our agent, we learned that our home checked off so many of the boxes for our buyers that we didn't have to go below our bottom price. They initially offered $125K less than that, but after a couple additional rounds of bidding, they finally agreed to what we wanted.
Thanks Karen!! I kept Hope alive. :-) I actually think my realtor was surprised. All it took is for one buyer to really love the house. I'm glad I didn't lower the price just because this one right buyer didn't come see the house during those 3 weeks.
I have inspection Wednesday and hopefully the report by Friday. If appraisal and inspection go ok, then closing is in a month....so much to do and so little time. I'll be renting for awhile at the location I'm moving to, so I'll need to travel there and find a place. What fun!!!
Evidently I've been told there should be no issues with financing from the buyer so that should go smoothly.
Are you having much luck with selling your home? It is such a nice house. Have you found a home that you're interested in buying?
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