Three weeks on the market, lots of showings and no offers (Murfreesboro, TN) (RE agent, sales)
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So you dropped it $2,000. What move is that supposed to do exactly? Its not even a blip on the screen. When I was shopping for a house with a friend, those teeny drops turned us away; made us think the seller isnt serious about negotiating. How long do you plan on staying at that price before you make another $2,000 drop? And then another? And another? If you will make 3 or 4 of those drops, why not make it entire drop now, so people searching will see it? It sounds like no matter what, you have to sell it. Wouldnt you rather sooner than later?
This. I am turned off by houses with tiny price drops. Unless I'm head over heels in love with a house (and I'm not an emotional house buyer so this is highly unlikely) I'll just keep scrolling by.
I’d be hiring a photographer.. generally, that’s paid for by the realtor, but in your situation, you don’t have time or money to quibble.. a nice 25-30 shot spread by a pro in my area is about $125. Even if it’s $500 in your area, bringing attention to yours in a crowded market is 100% necessary. You can’t dig your way out $2000 at a time - there are less and less buyers every month through Christmas. Spend some cash on better pics or go for a noticeable price drop.. those are the only “levers” you can pull right now.
Completely agree, but with that said the other homes with offers that have some of those features are priced at $134-$149/SF whereas we're at $131/SF. I don't know if the competing inventory and time of year just means they're going to sell first and we have to wait a bit longer, or if we're priced wrong. A $10-15k drop in price will only change your mortgage by about $50-$60, the annual escrow change can fluctuate more than that lol. So feels like dropping anything less than ~$20k wouldn't do a thing. Maybe I'm just being impatient..
I'm a mortgage broker in Florida and deal with a lot of first time homebuyers.
Could you add that you will assist with some closing costs (example: closing cost credit of $4000) - this will help your potential buyer get a lower rate also?
I find first time homebuyers have the 3 1/2% down but the closing costs are hard to reach.
Your kitchen looks like it is very tight and closed off from the rest of the house. If that is the case, you are likely overpriced as that is a negative to buyers.
This. I am turned off by houses with tiny price drops. Unless I'm head over heels in love with a house (and I'm not an emotional house buyer so this is highly unlikely) I'll just keep scrolling by.
Only thing I can add is that the pictures are just awful. Im somewhat surprised that a realtor would put pictures like that up, if he was worth his salt. It seems people are coming to look at it, tho, so something, once people get there, are turning people off. Its not price, if people are coming; but if theres no offers after people see it, then it is price. You may have to lower it to where people think, well I really dont like this about this house, but at that price, I can live with it.
I agree. I know this is silly, and others might disagree, but whenever I see a listing where the first 5-10 pictures are of the outside I immediately think what's wrong with the inside of the house? Good listings will start with one main exterior shot then go into the house right away.
And just because he has viewings doesn't mean those buyers specifically asked to see his house. Often a buyer's agent will take buyers on a tour of possibilities. Better pictures and staging could increase traffic.
I think your house is nice. I would rent a storage unit and get rid of that giant couch. I'd then get the house staged. I find that houses around me that sell quickly always have a fire pit in the backyard. They'll even get a night shot of the fire pit on. You can find a cheap one on Craigslist or maybe on sale at a retailer.
This is just my layperson's opinion, but I think you have a beautiful house and the photos don't do it any justice whatsoever. The feature cover photo on Zillow is low-resolution and pixelated, the remaining photos are taken out of order and at oddly high angles, the lighting in many rooms is far too dark with some in a yellow/green hue and the floorplan is not at all clear. All of these things are easily fixed by having a professional come in and re-shoot along with preparing a floorplan.
I found this listing, which kind of shows what can be done with a similarly priced home using professional photos and light staging (though I think they should have moved the pickup truck out of the driveway in the cover shot):
I can empathize, I'm in the process of selling my home currently and it's a stressful process for sure. You want to bring in as many potential buyers as possible and good photos can be the difference between someone setting up a showing vs clicking through to another house.
Maybe talk to your realtor - professional photos are often included in the listing and unless their commission is very low or something it doesn't seem unreasonable to ask for better photos.
Last edited by vladlensky; 09-21-2019 at 09:17 AM..
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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Lower the price. Lots of showings and no offers means you are close to what a buyer would pay, but something is off-putting once they see your house in person compared to other houses they've seen. Usually price fixes that.
Also, you definitely don't want to be the bounce house.
Buyers in my area pay list. I have no idea why. Then they ask for closing help. Essentially, you have to guess their magic number before they will even make an offer.
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A thought
