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The prices suggested by the realtors was $310, $340 & $365. We listed at $325.
We're with a flat fee MLS agent so they have us on the MLS and all the major sites, plus I have us listed on Zillow, Hotpads & Trulia and regularly update our listing Craigslist. I also have a web site for the house and professional flyers. We're paying the standard 3% commission to buyer's realtor.
Not sure whether realtor-only open houses are common around here. I can ask my realtor friend.
Re: security....I agree about having people sign in, but what would stop a criminal from just writing down a fake name? I mean, we can't ask for ID at the door.
I also thought about having an open house and inviting everyone in the neighborhood...distributing flyers to each house. Our neighborhood is fairly small...about 200 houses and it's a really close-knit, charming neighborhood...the type of neighborhood that people grow up in and then move back when they get married because it's so special. I think in this type of neighborhood it may be likely that people will want to get family or friends to move here.
What do you think?
Not everyone who gives a fake name at an open house is a criminal. I do it almost every time I go to one to protect my privacy and to not be hassled by realtors. I go to open houses to look, so I do not want them to waste their time contacting me about a house that I am very unlikely to consider buying since I am already buying one. I do go to open houses in the neighborhood I am buying in because I want to see what the other houses look like on the inside. I admit that! But I also do not waste the realtor's time or hang around long, I come in, have a look around, and leave.
It sounds like you have made solid decisions about marketing your house so far but it still has not sold. I would talk to my realtor and ask for another CMA to see where prices are going. In this market, houses that are priced correctly sell and sell quickly. I know real estate is very local so that may not apply to your area but it is worth seeing what your competitors are doing.
I never stated that everyone who uses a fake name on a sign-in sheet at an open house is a criminal. In fact, I use a fake name when I go to open houses because I don't want to be hassled by realtors. My point was that a sign-in sheet is not a safety mechanism, since criminals can easily write down a fake name just as easily as a non-criminal can.
An Open House cannot hurt your chances of getting sold but it is unlikely to bring in a ready, willing and able buyer.
20 showings in 2 months and no offers means that something is off. Buyers' Agents have no reason to tell you if your price is right or not and your flat fee listing agent does not know.
Were the original prices based on closed sales? If so, those sales are now probably 3-6 months old and the contracts on those sales were written 1-3 months before that. In other words, it's dated information. What comparable properties have closed since you have been for sale?
Is it possible that you are chasing the market, down?
So often sellers hear that there is an X month supply of homes in their local market. Some of them believe that on the X day, the clouds will part and a buyer will decend from the heavens and buy. The reality is that it is taking X months for most sellers to hear the market and adjust their price.
It sounds like your lovely home is being used to sell your competition. In most areas, this is a " Slinky" market.
Remember the Slinky toy? It kept momentum going down--never reversing--and it never stopped until it hit the floor. That's the momentum of this housing market--price a home so that it gets bought midway and it doesn't hit the floor.
Last edited by middle-aged mom; 06-05-2009 at 08:48 AM..
Based on the three price points, how would you feel about lowering your price to $310 or $300? Since you had a pretty good amount of showings to begin with, your home is sparking some interest. Some people may return, and you may get more. Lowering the price would make up for the 1.5 baths.
I would hesitate to cut price WITH OUT KNOWING THE COMPETITION!
If other houses have sold that are more affordable that would be the deciding factor for me. If there are other houses in the same (or lower...) price range that have SIMILAR TIME ON MARKET, then you cannot "manufacture a buyer" on price alone and it is all but impossible to "negotiate up".
Pricing is HARD, but giving away MONEY is much more painful...
Thanks for all your posts and tossing out thought and ideas.
There are a few things that make things a little tricky for our sale as far as pricing, etc.
The first issue is that no houses have closed in our neighborhood in about a year, so there really are no recent comps. Houses nearby but outside our neighborhood are in bordering towns (i.e. different towns, different school districts) as our neighborhood is sandwiched between 2 other towns. So we can't really use those neighborhood's comps as they are not in the same school district (and our town's school district is highly rated compared to the neighboring towns whose schools are not as highly-rated).
The neighborhood we live in is also not typical for our town. Most of our town was built in the 1960s and 1970s. Our neighborhood is one of the first built in the town and was built from the 1920s - 1940s. On the plus side, the aesthetic of our neighborhood is a bit prettier and more charming than most of the other neighborhoods within a couple miles. On the down side, most people who like older homes don't think of our town because it's not known as a town that has a lot of older architecture. There are total of 2 neighborhoods in our town with older architecture.
Putting these issues aside, there is another issue. Our house is not really similar to most of the houses in the neighborhood. It's larger than most of them and of a slightly older era than most of them. 75-80% of the houses in our neighborhood were built in the mid 1940s - brick colonials with about 1,500 - 1,800 square feet. Most have 4 bedrooms and 2 - 2 1/2 bathrooms. Ours is 1926 center hall colonial with about 2,500 square feet so it's larger, but has fewer bathrooms. On the plus side, our house has some features that most of the homes in our neighborhood do not have - a very large screened sunporch with skylights, electrical outlets, ceiling fan, a 2 1/2 car garage, and 2 fireplaces and a finished 3rd floor with 2 bonus rooms which can be used as bedrooms, so our house is 4-6 bedrooms (technically 4 because only 4 rooms have closets, but 2 extra finished rooms). Plus, it's a bit prettier on the outside than almost every house in the neighborhood (at least in my subjective opinion - you can let me know if I am off-base).
Houses currently for sale in our neighborhood range from $250K - $345K
This probably explains why the range we got from the 3 realtors was so spread apart.
I've actually sold a couple of houses from an open house. That said, open houses are just one aspect of throwing darts at a board. For all the grand marketing, who knows what really sells - on line ads, MLS, direct mail, agent showings ... and then someone drives down the street, sees the sign and buys the house. Who knows!
Since your house is occupied, an open house does come with risks. It's becoming more coming for "shoplifting" at open houses. And yes, crooks do use open houses to case a house. An open house means you are opening the door to anyone off the street, the general public, to come in. Burglars have no trouble finding transportation - most have cars.
If you plan an open house here's a few tips;
Remove any valuables from your home - jewelry, guns, cash, valuable collections (i.e. coins, stamps, etc.)
Remove any Rx from your home. It's becoming common for people to steal meds. right out of the bathroom!
Often agents don't feel an open house is a good use of time. They are time killers. But an open house can introduce the agent to many of your neighbors and that can generate leads for listings.
It really can't hurt - again you never know!
Best wishes.
The picture of your home lovely, striking even. There is a problem with the other two links, but I would guess they are not as impressive.
I won't bore you with a lecture about "buying the nicest home on the block" but I don't think that you are doomed to be the 'beauty pageant winner that never gets a date". You need a full service real estate pro, or at the very least one heckuva a network to tap into potential buyers.
The fact that you mention that you have superior schools BUT NO CLOSINGS IN YOUR AREA IN A YEAR gives me the willys -- is something else going on? Tax burden? Political upheaval? Zoning / development issues? Devastating business closings? You cannot do anything about those kinds of things but YOU need to reach out to people that ARE out there and WOULD love to live in home like yours. It is that pretty!
If there are other homes in your town / school attendance area that are on the market you need to sorta work with them to pull buyers in for all of you -- this is very hard, but open houses are about as strong of a way to do as anything. You need to cooperate heavily with the other sellers and their agents to do so. If you have an agent it makes this MUCH easier, as every office has a natural give and take "pull for the home team but SELL MINE first" mindset that you totally miss with a flat fee listing.
If there are other areas where older homes are sought out you also need to get onto the radar of those buyers. This is very tricky, and some people will call me hopelessly old fashioned but when you have a pretty house the best way to get it noticed in an old fashioned direct mail campaign. An old school guy like me would go to the local printer and have postcards made up. Then I would stick stamps on 'em and send to the OTHER real estate office in town in the hope that they won't all just collect dust in some unchecked mail bin, but actually catch the eye of an agent who knows SOMEBODY that loves pretty old houses and wants good schools too. Expensive, but your ONLY NEED ONE buyer to see it make it all worthwhile.
The fact that you mention that you have superior schools BUT NO CLOSINGS IN YOUR AREA IN A YEAR gives me the willys -- is something else going on? Tax burden? Political upheaval? Zoning / development issues? Devastating business closings? You cannot do anything about those kinds of things but YOU need to reach out to people that ARE out there and WOULD love to live in home like yours. It is that pretty!
I read the post as meaning there were no closings because no one had listed a house in a year. Meaning the neighborhood is very stable, which would be understandable given the good schools. Maybe I'm missing something.
It's a gorgeous house. The only thing I can think of that that would keep it on the market a long time is the 1.5 baths.
But I agree that it may be time to go full-service instead of flat fee, if that means you'll get more exposure.
Our house is currently for sale. We live in a very nice middle class suburb in Southern
We haven't had an open house yet. My husband and I disgree about having one. I think we should have one - the more traffic we get in, the better chance of selling - it's a numbers game. Hubby thinks open houses are unsafe and an invitation to potential criminals to case the house. Our area is not a crime-ridden area, but it's close enough to the city and public transportation that criminal types could easily get there. Also, he feels open houses are a waste of time and a friend of mine who is a realtor once told me that rarely do open houses sell a house. They mostly generate new clients for realtors.
What do you think?
Thanks in advance for your input.
I think you're both right. Exposure is the key to getting more people in, but your husband is typically correct about open houses. They sell less than .01 of the homes that go under contract but there is that slim chance. Honestly, as an agent I think they are by and large a waste of time with the internet being so popular now and buyers being able to sit at home and browse virtual tours. However, as big a waste of time as they are here they are effective in some markets.
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