Time to Wake Up, Sellers!
I just read with great interest what my friend Miranda Marquit wrote about “sticky” asking prices where sellers are reticent about pricing their homes at the current market value.
These “sticky” asking prices are probably among the main reasons that existing home sales continue to languish. Homeowners who bought their homes before the real estate bubble burst and home values dropped are stuck with this idea that they “have” to get a certain amount for their houses. Unfortunately, it’s a buyer’s market and sellers may have to re-asses the feasibility of their asking prices. Even if it means accepting less than they’d like.
In fact, one of my listings just expired last week and I’m not sure if 1) the seller will relist and 2) I’d relist even if he wants to. The home has been on the market for over a year - I’ve had it for just at three months. None of the other agents did anything to market it, but I’ve taken tons of photos (and have changed them seasonally), put it on all the online real estate sites I can find, have put together both a visual tour of the property and an animoto slide show. I held one open house in which one couple came through - they made the loop in about 2 minutes flat. And there have been ZERO other showings. I think he’s priced too high for this market, though it’s still comparable with other homes in the neighborhood. If he wants to sell it, he needs to price it lower. Plain and simple.
I’m working with a buyer who’s coming by tonight to work on a contract for another home. The seller of the home in which she’s interested bought the house three years ago for “X” amount. Since then the housing market has tanked. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. Except that seller and his agent. They are trying to sell this home for $20,000 more than they bought it three years ago. Ummmm hello?
So $20,000 may not be a big deal when you’re talking homes in the $200,000’s and upwards. But when it’s in the $130-150,000 range, that’s a lot of dough. We’re going to make an offer for what the comparables say it’s worth. And that’s all my buyer is willing to pay. I’ll do everything I can to convince the other agent so they can convince the seller, but I’ll be surprised when they have it priced that high that the contract goes through.
In this market, sellers must face reality if they really want to sell. If they need to make more money than the market calls for, maybe it’s they should consider a for sale by owner so they can keep the $6000, $9000, $20,000 commissions. It will take a lot of work to do it on their own (advertising, contracts, etc.), but if they’re that stubborn about the price and know more than the market, they surely can handle it.
Sellers need to get serious about selling - and realize it’s not the agent that determines the value but the market - and stop wasting everyone’s time. Time is money, afterall.
Photo from the Hoboken Real Estate blog.
