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We have been trying to sell our house here in Sarasota ! What we are seeing are "PICKY-PICKY" buyers!!!!!!!!! I researched what has sold in our neighborhood... excluding some a couple of estate and desperate sellers 2 years ago... I picked a sale price in the middle of suggested prices . We have new appliances, new kitchen , ((((((((((Granite))))))))! I am sick of the ((((((((((((Granite Thing!))))))... New tile , new cabinets in Masterbath, reglazed tub, painted front entrance , recoated walkway to front door, painted front door, planted new shrubs , painted house facing pool, redid surfaces around pool, painted 3 interior rooms, updated counters in guest bath, laundryroom, cleaned carpets , fixed any paint with nicks, trimmed trees , painted mailbox, washed windows, hired a house Stager , put everything AWAY!!! Couldn't even find a picture of family members to show a visitor ,because that 's what stager said to do. Everytime I see suggestions in the real estate section of the paper about selling your house,,, I go through it and if I haven't already done it, I do it..I visit other homes in my price point during open houses to see what they are doing. I get so ticked off at the constant wonderful news LOL ! in the Sarasota Tribune about the house sales... "NOT AT THE 700's and up " ! I called this reporter , and said the reality is that it ain't happening for folks in my price point .. He admitted to me, that yes he knew it wasn't... I have a couple of other neighbors who have their houses are the market and they are seeing these PICKY lookers also... It is like these few buyers that are out there, they want beautiful mature landscaping, convenient location , but want everything to their taste , if you put in all wood they would say oh no, than if you have all tile OH no ! It is like they don't want to do one thing to make it they own ! No creativity ... My house is on a lake , western sunsets , beautiful bird life, rosetta spoonbills etc. I also blame HGTV for alot of this also ! If you complain to your realtor , they quick response is to cut and give it away ... Well guess what! We need money to buy another house ..! Thank you for letting me air my grievances ! I just want the truth out there ! It isn't wonderful in Sarasota for sellers ...
this is due to the media and the way they portray florida. people up north think that all the houses have lost 90% of their value. they think you can get a 3000 sq ft house on the water with a boat lift for 50k because every house has been foreclosed on.
We have been trying to sell our house here in Sarasota ! What we are seeing are "PICKY-PICKY" buyers!!!!!!!!! I researched what has sold in our neighborhood... excluding some a couple of estate and desperate sellers 2 years ago... I picked a sale price in the middle of suggested prices . We have new appliances, new kitchen , ((((((((((Granite))))))))! I am sick of the ((((((((((((Granite Thing!))))))... New tile , new cabinets in Masterbath, reglazed tub, painted front entrance , recoated walkway to front door, painted front door, planted new shrubs , painted house facing pool, redid surfaces around pool, painted 3 interior rooms, updated counters in guest bath, laundryroom, cleaned carpets , fixed any paint with nicks, trimmed trees , painted mailbox, washed windows, hired a house Stager , put everything AWAY!!! Couldn't even find a picture of family members to show a visitor ,because that 's what stager said to do. Everytime I see suggestions in the real estate section of the paper about selling your house,,, I go through it and if I haven't already done it, I do it..I visit other homes in my price point during open houses to see what they are doing. I get so ticked off at the constant wonderful news LOL ! in the Sarasota Tribune about the house sales... "NOT AT THE 700's and up " ! I called this reporter , and said the reality is that it ain't happening for folks in my price point .. He admitted to me, that yes he knew it wasn't... I have a couple of other neighbors who have their houses are the market and they are seeing these PICKY lookers also... It is like these few buyers that are out there, they want beautiful mature landscaping, convenient location , but want everything to their taste , if you put in all wood they would say oh no, than if you have all tile OH no ! It is like they don't want to do one thing to make it they own ! No creativity ... My house is on a lake , western sunsets , beautiful bird life, rosetta spoonbills etc. I also blame HGTV for alot of this also ! If you complain to your realtor , they quick response is to cut and give it away ... Well guess what! We need money to buy another house ..! Thank you for letting me air my grievances ! I just want the truth out there ! It isn't wonderful in Sarasota for sellers ...
Well I'd say if your house is as show ready as you say and it's not selling - it's priced too high. Deny and blame all you want but the fact are what the facts are.
Not trying to be difficult - I'm sure you're frustrated, but it all boils down to price. Your house will yeild what a buyer is willing to pay. If you don't get an offer from the first few people who look at it, your chances of selling at that price are severely reduced. We are currently looking to buy in SRQ (condo), and we feel the exact opposite - that sellers are listing their homes too high, trying to take advantage of the much talked about housing boom in SRQ. A lot of places that have been for sale for months have had an inexplicable price increase, which is equally frustrating as a buyer.
Everyone tries to build in some "padding" into their asking price. All sellers know they are going to have to negotiate down from there. If you see a place you like & you feel the price is too high, I don't understand walking away simply because of that. Make an offer you feel is fair & what the market supports. You just might be surprised how much the seller comes down during negotiations. And naturally a stronger market is going to bring increased asking prices.
To the OP- I can understand your frustration. However, if you've made this house market ready by doing the improvements it needs & other homes are selling & yours isn't, there could be something else about the house that's keeping buyers away beside the price (if your price is fair). Sometimes as an owner, you don't see it. Kind of like those parents who are in denial about their kid being a heathen. Everyone else sees it but them. Are you using a realtor? It might be worth asking them to shoot you straight & tell you why they think it isn't selling. And sometimes it just takes patience. Some people list a house & expect it to sell within a month or two but that isn't always how it works.
Homes priced correctly around the median price are selling quickly but as you move up the ladder into higher price ranges, realize that there are few buyers and more listings available so a $700K house will take longer to sell than a $150K house. But even when showing lower priced homes I work with buyers who have unreasonable expectations and think they can get a 2000 square foot pool home for 100K or less. These homes no longer exist and prices are up considerably from the market lows. In this instance, I blame the media and news for pounding into people for so long that they can get their pick of the litter for very little money. Back when there were 24 months of inventory available, it was the case. But 2 years later and now with under 4 months of inventory available, it is no longer the case. I have been working with one buyer looking in 1 particular community and there had been nothing available for a few months and finally a listing came to market, I emailed him the information, and he was alarmed and frustrated that the seller is asking about $6K more than the last listing in the community, which was about 3 months ago.
In real estate there are 3 things that factor into a sale....marketing, price, and condition. If you are getting showings then your Realtor is marketing it and doing his or her job. If the condition is great as you described, then you may wish to consider getting a professional appraisal and see what they value it at.
I have been working with one buyer looking in 1 particular community and there had been nothing available for a few months and finally a listing came to market, I emailed him the information, and he was alarmed and frustrated that the seller is asking about $6K more than the last listing in the community, which was about 3 months ago.
He waits more than a few hours..it will be sold or have multiple offers on it !
Location: Sarasota/ Bradenton - University Pkwy area
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Obviously, the big 3 reasons why properties are not selling are: price, location and condition.
It sounds like you've done everything you can to make the condition appealing to buyers, so you need to look further for reasons as to why your home is not selling in this market.
Location - is your neighborhood popular with buyers in general? Are there HOA problems that may be turning buyers away? Does your home back up to an exterior road that is high traffic? Some buyers don't like corner lots, or lots next to an entrance gate.
Price is a big factor. In your price range it is important to not only look at sales prices within your current neighborhood, but you should also be looking at other neighborhoods that have homes in the same price range that you are competing with -- what do those neighborhoods have to offer that your neighborhood may not?
There are other factors to take into consideration besides the big 3 mentioned above.
Is your home listed through a real estate agent, or are you trying to market it yourself?
If it is with an agent, you should be getting feedback from every showing and open house as to what the buyers like and don't like about your home and their thoughts on your list price. I always ask buyers and their agents to be totally honest in their feedback.
If you are listed in the MLS, have you looked at the listing? Are the photos of your home a good representation? I've seen interior photos that were so dark you could barely make out the furniture, photos of bathrooms with the toilet seats up, exterior photos that are more concrete driveway than landscaping and the infamous open garage door with the junk inside highlighted to prospective buyers instead of the attractive front entrance. I would also make a comment here about agents that photoshop their pictures to make the home seem better than it actually is. If your lawn isn't the emerald green it appears to be in the photos, if the interior is not as large as the special camera lens makes it appear in the photos, the buyers that do come to your home with great expectations will be disappointed and may turn around and walk away from your listing without further consideration. You want good photos that accurately represent your home, not fantasy photos.
Look at the public remarks of your MLS listing. Do they create a picture with words of how great your home is? Do the remarks convey the amenities and features of living in your neighborhood?
Is the MLS information correct on your property? I've seen listings that fail to mention community features such as pools & clubhouses, listings marked septic system when they are on sewer, listings improperly mapped (which is very important for the way buyers search locations these days). If your info isn't correct, buyers may be excluding your home for the wrong reasons.
Have you discussed with your agent his/her strategic marketing plan for your home? Where is it being advertised, how often, are there broker and public open houses, what other web sites is your home being marketed on (as 80% or more of buyers now start their initial search on the Internet)?
How easy (or hard) is it for agents to show your home? If a buyer's agent has 8 or 10 homes in your price range with similar features to show their buyer and you require 24 hours notice to show & other restrictions on showing, the agent is likely going to put your home on the bottom of the list.
Commission offered to buyers agents can play a factor. Is your listing agent offering a competitive co-broke commission to buyers agents? Sometimes it pays to offer a commission that is slightly above the "average," or perhaps a selling bonus if sold by a specific date.
Are you using a discount brokerage with limited services or limited representation? Some brokers don't want their agents showing listings of sellers without proper representation by the listing agent due to potential lawsuits created by the lack of representation on the seller's side.
I can understand your frustration in not being able to sell your home, but perhaps you are concentrating too much on the condition and missing another important piece of the puzzle.
What possible point is there to getting angry at market forces? There is always this tone as if someone's house not selling is someone else's fault.
Maybe you should realize that it is not Florida's fault, or Sarasota's fault, or the fault of the newspapers or the fault of, well, anyone, really.
And do what you need to do.
"Blowing the whistle" here on the real estate market is not going to get anyone anywhere.
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I would also make a comment here about agents that photoshop their pictures to make the home seem better than it actually is. If your lawn isn't the emerald green it appears to be in the photos, if the interior is not as large as the special camera lens makes it appear in the photos, the buyers that do come to your home with great expectations will be disappointed and may turn around and walk away from your listing without further consideration. You want good photos that accurately represent your home, not fantasy photos.
