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Our house has only been on the market 2 weeks, lots of realtors through, but very few buyers. We live in a very desireable location; the median sale price is over $1MM, and there is very little competition in our price range. The feedback so far has generally been very positive. I'd like anyone's opinion on whether you think it's too soon to lower the price. It's also been raining pretty consistently for the last 2 weeks, which might have a bearing on the low volume. I know 2 weeks doesn't sound like very long to most people, but our turn-around is usually fairly fast, EVEN in this market, and my concern is not so much that we haven't had an offer, it's that we haven't even had the traffic. So, it's hard to tell if it's the time of year, economy, weather, price, or all of the above.
In my book, comments are not "positive" unless the comment came w/an offer attached....sorry, just my .02. People will think of anything to tell you but in most cases it comes down to price.
If your house is staged to perfection, your realtor is giving you feedback and you feel you're priced very aggressive, then I'd say give it a little more time. If you get no offers or limited traffic, then the market is telling you your taj mahal is grossly overpriced and a significant reduction in asking price is in order.
The first two weeks are key in getting your house sold. If you aren't getting traffic through your house its because people either aren't seeing it, or they aren't seeing it as a value.
Conventional wisdom used to be to price at a 999 number (ex. $249,999) to keep it 'under $300K.' If you are doing that today, in the Internet world, you are eliminating every buyer who uses the pull down menu to start their search at $300K.
Where are potential buyers (and their real estate agents) going to find you? Is your agent making sure you are getting exposure to your most likely buyer demographic? (if an older buyer is your target - print media is still important. If a younger buyer - the Internet is key).
Assuming all the above are tracking and, as Coupon Jack suggests that your house is well staged (pictures on the Internet are a key first impression)...then it comes down to price. If, after 2 weeks you aren't getting traffic then you should IMMEDIATELY look at your price. If you are going to cut it, don't nickel and dime it...do a price reduction that reflects where you want to stand in relation to your competition on the market, and not just similar homes...but in your general PRICE range - for which you are competing for buyer's dollars.
Don't hesitate...I would say talk with your Realtor and do it NOW.
My time frame is slightly different from Daves, in that I would suggest waiting 4 weeks. Here's why:
I must assume that you priced your home at or slightly below market to be competitive.
Realtors have previewed the home and again I must assume that your agent has followed up and no one has commented that the price is too high.
It has been raining so that may keep traffic away.
Typically the highest traffic occurs during the 3 to 5 week time frame. So reducing it during after 2 weeks may be premature. It takes a little time for the marketing to take effect and bring people in. However, if your beginning price is too high, then by all means reduce it now, because of the 3-5 week higher traffic period.
Dave is right on with the pricing model at the prime search points. Look at Realtor.com and see what the search points are and you'll see exactly what he is referring to.
As Dave suggested, do talk with your agent about this. Stay in constant communication with him, and when you do reduce the price, make sure you are at or slightly under the market, so you don't stay constantly above the curve.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
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Your motivation in selling is also an important element in pricing your home. If you are in a hurry, the advice you've been given above is all good, if not, it's still good advice, just push the numbers back a bit.
If you drop your price so fast, me as an investor would think " I'll better wait, they are in a hurry to sell so the price will come down more." They key thing is to have a great price when you start to sell the home. Better offer an incentive to buyers agent or for buyers closing costs and leave the price if you think the price is reasonable. Sometimes it's just not the price or location, but the market is just bad and most people are looking for the "deals". All you hear in the media, is get a deal, so people are harder to buy a nice home for a good aprice, after all we all want have nice things for the lowest price. It might change a bit in a couple of months, since they aren't building much new construction, so that can help the market going to be better.
Remember you only need one buyer.
Good Luck.
My time frame is slightly different from Daves, in that I would suggest waiting 4 weeks. Here's why:
I must assume that you priced your home at or slightly below market to be competitive.
Realtors have previewed the home and again I must assume that your agent has followed up and no one has commented that the price is too high.
It has been raining so that may keep traffic away.
Typically the highest traffic occurs during the 3 to 5 week time frame. So reducing it during after 2 weeks may be premature. It takes a little time for the marketing to take effect and bring people in. However, if your beginning price is too high, then by all means reduce it now, because of the 3-5 week higher traffic period.
Dave is right on with the pricing model at the prime search points. Look at Realtor.com and see what the search points are and you'll see exactly what he is referring to.
As Dave suggested, do talk with your agent about this. Stay in constant communication with him, and when you do reduce the price, make sure you are at or slightly under the market, so you don't stay constantly above the curve.
A professional Realtor normally puts price changes into the plan they have for marketing a property before it is listed. That way, you don't have to guess as much.
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It should have been in the plan.
