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there's ZERO good "market pricing" reason to raise your price, with nothing happening but the passage of time.
But I have certainly seen disconnected Sellers read a newspaper article about "House prices rise 5% nationally" that think it means they should increase the price on their languishing house by 5% because of the article.
While I hear you, and certainly understand and agree with your point....what kind of idiot would set a minimum price in a search so close to what they want to spend? Maximum price? Yes. Minimum price? Why?
If I'm thinking of buying a house in the $300-$400 range, you'd better be certain I'm looking at houses in the 200s.
You'd be surprised at how many people don't though. If they are working with a real estate agent you better believe that person is going to show them homes at the top of what they think is affordable for the client (which might not match what the client feels is right) and then show lower range homes that seem just downright junky. I had some homes on our lower price range that we felt the agent just refused to show us- but they did show similarly priced homes that needed major work to dissuade us from buying at that low price-point. It's all a pitch- trust no one in real estate unless you have a personal intimate relationship with them imo.
Home prices change seasonally. So prices rise and fall over the course of year varying on location. If you've been watching homes/ the market for a year or so you'd expect this. Some seasons are easier to sell in even in a buyers market. People can also have their old listing expire and relist with a new agent and ask for a different amount. Some houses will be listed when it's perceived they can get a better price and then are taken "off the market" only to be listed again at a different rate in half a year. There is nothing unusual or fishy about this. It's just everyone trying to make an extra buck if they aren't stuck between a rock and a hard spot aka "motivated seller." And typically they play these games because they expect a difficult buyer who wants a new roof, termite inspection, mold inspection, yadda yadda- so they really do need to pad the cost.
There's more finesse in home-selling and buying than in perhaps any other transaction a person can go through including marriage or attracting a mate imo. Buyers have to watch carefully and be informed before they even walk into an open house.
I wish you luck in finding your next home. But you probably won't find something satisfying for 100K less than your target unless you are very handy and willing to replace outdated boilers, flooring and roofing- maybe even electric (which of course you know you shouldn't DIY- you need a certified electrician for that).
Of course you should look at lower ranged homes for information but just see how your agent reels and gives excuses as to why she/ he cant' show that home but will show you one that cheap with a large horizontal crack or foundational issue in the basement wall just so they can dissuade you from buying a decent cheaper home by showing you a poorer example of homes in your lower price point.
I stopped short of going for my final certification to become a real estate agent because I felt it too distasteful with all the smarmy manipulations we had to do just to be picked up by a named realtor association. Sure we were not allowed ethically to bold-faced lie about...certain things- but you had to ask the exact right questions. Otherwise we were used-car salesmen dealing with a more expensive commodity.
Information is your friend. Research for as long as possible- 18 months would give you a decent picture and go to open houses before you are ready to buy. Be well informed and know what questions to ask before you put down any money that's my advice to you. Ask first, then put money down and make an offer- not the other way around because that will involve lawyers and unpleasant backpedalling.
I used to make and sell crafts. If something wasn't selling, sometimes I would raise the price to make it look more valuable to buyers. Sometimes it worked.
I have been looking online at homes, for a while, in an area I want to retire to. It is a small town so I am familiar with a handful of homes that haven't sold and have been on the market for months. I have recently noticed several of these homes that haven't sold have increased the price without anything new being done to them. Is it just me or is this an odd thing to do if you haven't sold it in the 8-16 months it remained on the market? And now with interest rates going up it seems even more odd to increase the price.
I'm not a real estate savvy person so thought I would ask here, thanks.
Don't know the area---not RE professional but thoughts of someone who pays attention to RE in her area:
1--comps for homes that have sold might support an increase to listed price if/when a buyer does appear
2--they are trying to attract a different set of shoppers
Since many people set their top price at $X, by raising the price they have enlarged that index of shopper
Hoping maybe to get people who haven't considered that listing
3--since the homes haven't sold and have been on MLS for while it could be the listing realtor is not that market savvy...going up in price vs down was the option they chose to respond to stagnant interest
Likely won't work...
While I hear you, and certainly understand and agree with your point....what kind of idiot would set a minimum price in a search so close to what they want to spend? Maximum price? Yes. Minimum price? Why?
Users will sometimes use a minimum price in online searches to reduce the number of search results and to eliminate properties that they know they probably won't be interested in. How close the minimum price is set to what the user actually wants to pay is up to the user.
You'd be surprised at how many people don't though. If they are working with a real estate agent you better believe that person is going to show them homes at the top of what they think is affordable for the client (which might not match what the client feels is right) and then show lower range homes that seem just downright junky. I had some homes on our lower price range that we felt the agent just refused to show us- but they did show similarly priced homes that needed major work to dissuade us from buying at that low price-point. It's all a pitch- trust no one in real estate unless you have a personal intimate relationship with them imo.
Did you tell your agent which houses you wanted to see? Why would you keep working with a Real Estate Agent who would refuse to show you homes?
I don't choose the houses my clients want to see. They do. I send them all the prospects (and I DO weed out the bad ones, NOT the good ones!) and they tell me which ones catch their eye. I err on the side of sending them if I'm not sure. It's a two way communication. Why? Because as much as I try to know my clients, they sometimes surprise me with what they like. I am NOT here to limit their choices, only advise them about features and factors they might not be able to see. I include homes a little above and a little below their range so we don't miss at least thinking about any that are close.
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Of course you should look at lower ranged homes for information but just see how your agent reels and gives excuses as to why she/ he cant' show that home but will show you one that cheap with a large horizontal crack or foundational issue in the basement wall just so they can dissuade you from buying a decent cheaper home by showing you a poorer example of homes in your lower price point.
I don't know any realtors who actually think this way. Do you know which house I want to show you? The one you would want to buy today! I don't ~really~ care which one it is. The small difference in my bottom line between one house and another, compared to the time, gas and uncertainty of keeping you on a tour through a bunch of homes you don't want, is not worth the difference to me. I don't want to work that hard or do that much mental math... really!
I help people buy homes that are well below and well above your range ALL THE TIME. I don't have some magic price point I'm going to make you buy in. I have certainly had clients buy homes well below, and well above their initial budget... but those choices were theirs, not mine.
Quote:
I stopped short of going for my final certification to become a real estate agent because I felt it too distasteful with all the smarmy manipulations we had to do just to be picked up by a named realtor association. Sure we were not allowed ethically to bold-faced lie about...certain things- but you had to ask the exact right questions. Otherwise we were used-car salesmen dealing with a more expensive commodity.
I don't think you mean Realtor Association, and I'm not sure what you DO mean here.
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Information is your friend. Research for as long as possible- 18 months would give you a decent picture and go to open houses before you are ready to buy. Be well informed and know what questions to ask before you put down any money that's my advice to you.
THIS I agree with! Very much! Even the time frame if you have that kind of time. I have certainly had clients who took that long to be ready.
In our township houses sit for a long long time on the market. It is not really as much about pricing as it is hardly anyone knows about the place. Over time, home values increase, so they raise their prices to match. You are not going to sell it faster by lowering the price. People who cannot afford the price are not likely to buy here even if they get a bargain. In any event people who cannot afford the market prices are even less likely to know about the community.
I suppose if you put an $800,000 house on the market for $230,000 it would sell pretty fast, but probably just to an investor who would put it back on the market at $800,000. Lowering the price of that house to $750,000 woudl not help sell it.
I have noticed over the years, that sometimes houses are listed at a too-high price and then have a drop in price after only a week or two on the market.
I'm not a realtor and I know nothing about this, but here's what I am thinking.
Maybe some buyers look first at houses that have just dropped in price, thinking that the seller may be more eager to sell and they can negotiate a real bargain.
If you raise the price of a house, then you can drop the price back to where it was. It might get more interest from buyers like this if they are not bothering to look at the price history carefully.
The realtors here or others can now tell you if this makes any sense at all!!! LOL But this is my (wild) guess as to what is going on.
Who cares what the 'price' is? You are going to offer what you think the home is worth. If someone else thinks it is worth more, they will offer more and probably go into contract.
If you offer more than what an appraiser thinks it is worth, then you won't be able to get as large a mortgage as you may want, so you may or may not buy/decline the house.
All the price does is to tell you what the seller (and presumably their agent) considers a fair sales price to be. It tells you the ballpark of what the seller is expecting. If you cannot afford close to that don't look, but a house price should not be about what you can afford but about what the value of the house is to you compared to what the value is to other interested buyers.
Could also be that the market has increased in the area and they are in no rush to sell. Might as well increase the home price to match the market as to not taking less than what they could have received when a buyer finally does come to buy.
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Originally Posted by marino760
IMO this is done to give the home seller more flexibility when you make an offer on the home especially a low offer. Raising the price some may result in a higher offer which may be more negotiable. That's how I see it but I'm not a professional.
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Originally Posted by GiantRutgersfan
I don’t know that it makes sense in a small town. I think it’s unusual. I would guess hey are not interested in selling the house and maybe are just giving a last ditch effort. I know just changing the price on a listing can get it to show up on top of some of the online listings again
I think it's most likely a combination of these three things.
The longer a house sits on the market, the less views it is going to get, and the more likely when an offer does come in it's going to be low. However at the same time if it sits for awhile the overall market could increase. Raising the price will make it "update" and might make some more people see it. Of course, those people will still see that the price was raised. But instead of making a lowball offer on the previous price (if they ever even saw the listing), now they might think "well I'm not going to give them this new price, but something near their old price might not actually be so bad"
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Very much! Even the time frame if you have that kind of time. I have certainly had clients who took that long to be ready.
