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Hi there. My wife and I are considering selling our home and moving out a little bit farther to an area where we can afford more square footage, more family-friendly neighborhoods, etc.
We currently live in a very desireable pocket of Southern California. Seven houses in our area (called Sparr Heights) have recently sold for anywhere between $750k and $800k, accoring to Zillow.com. I realize that this site may not give an accurate representation for the value of your home, but I assume that the recently-sold data is fairly accurate. I would hope that our home would sell for around $700k, but I don't know much about the market in this area.
I also realize that this is a tough market, so just as I don't want to hand over a large portion of my equity that I need to take care of my family to a realtor, they also have families to take care of and need it also.
Would something like this be a nice compromise, which has the potential to benefit both parties? We currently owe $480k on our home, and with the upcoming economic stimulus package claiming to raise the limits of the conforming loans to around $725k, the market could see more activity.
Joey, it would not work for me, and it may not be in your best interest either.
One reason is that the house can not be sold above the market value. If an agent looks at your proposal and decides to try for the 7.5%, then the house may be listed to high, and it will not sell. Now, you're going to have to reduce the price, and in a declining market you may be chasing the market down without ever catching up. Consequently, the home could get down to 625k before it sells. You'll only be paying a 5% commission, but you may have lost over 50k using this strategy.
I prefer to work at my standard fee and have the home in a salable condition and priced at the market and possibly slightly below the competition so it will sell in the average market time. That is when you will net the most money.
Do not confuse paying a smaller commission with netting more money for your home. In most cases it will be exactly the opposite.
If you get an agent who doesn't know how the home should be positioned for the current market, and is being greedy by looking at the higher commission, and prices your home at the top end, then you and the agent will end up losing.
If you get an agent who doesn't know how the home should be positioned for the current market, and is being greedy by looking at the higher commission, and prices your home at the top end, then you and the agent will end up losing.
Funny you should mention that. The realtor that our family uses has always priced the home very well (often seemed a bit low to start, but ended up with ALOT of activity and a very fast sale), so I guess the best thing would be to just run with it and see what happens.
That also would not work for me. The reason is I do not control as Realtor what the home ultimately sells for. The buyer determines value by what they will pay. I will do the same work but offering me more will not make the home sell for more. It may encourage desperate Realtors to take a stab at listing it high however. Hire a good Realtor, price it right, and then if you don't make quite what you like then shop for a deal as a buyer. If you're in a desirable area it stands to reason you'll come out a winner in the long run.
The other issue you have is that the listing agent is going to put a buyer agent portion in the MLS. I know as an agent, I don't want to see a gradation chart in the MLS to figure out what I get. Some agents, like myself, have buyer agency agreements with buyers for a minimum fee. Buyers make up the difference for lower commissions. My buyers take this into consideration in their home purchase. So my buyers would not know until we have an accepted offer whether or not they had to pay a portion of my fee.
While I understand your desire to do the sliding fee, it is just too complicated. We agents, like clean and simple.
This scheme implies that Realtors control the market.
The reality is the facts of your local market control what someone will pay for your home. These facts change with every new closed comp, new listing and price reduction.
What you need or want out of the sale of your home means nothing to the market.
The recent comps from comparable homes are the facts. You need a Realtor that can compare your home to the others based upon having been in them.
How you are priced versus your competition, your strategy, determines if you sell their home or they sell your home. It's your choice to become sold or sell other people's homes.
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I would hope that our home would sell for around $700k, but I don't know much about the market in this area.
