Don’t Stigmatize Your Home By Over Pricing!
July 7, 2007 by Monika McGillicuddy
Filed under General R.E. Information, Home Seller tips
A little while ago my husband and fellow REALTOR, Jay, wrote a post on his blog about a Seller who over priced their home. It was all about the cost of not believing and since that time I’ve seen the same thing happen over and over again.
Many sellers are still in denial, thinking that their treasured home is worth more than this current market believes it is.
The market rules…not agents…not sellers but The Market!
What is the market…who is the market? It is simply what a buyer is willing to pay for a home and what a seller is willing to sell that home for.
You need to price your home right the first time out of the gate. Or you simply won’t attract any buyers and it will sit and sit! Eventually the price will be reduced and reduced some more as you try and play catch up to the market. Never quite catching up!
At some point people will begin to wonder what is wrong with it? Why hasn’t the house sold? Don’t run the risk of allowing this to happen to you! Don’t stigmatize your property…price it to sell from the get go.
I’ve reprinted Jay’s article in it’s entirety…it’s well worth the read.
The Cost of Not Believing
Monika and I have been selling real estate for over 23 years and we pride ourselves at how well we present or CMA’s (comparable market analysis). We were contacted by someone back in Sept. of ‘06 who wanted to sell quickly so they could relocate to Florida and not spend another winter in New Hampshire.
Monika and I did a two step listing presentation. We went and viewed the home and then went back in to present our findings. The house was in ok condition and nothing spectacular. It was dated and needed some minor repairs and a good cleaning. The house sat on over 2.00 acres with over 2700 sq. ft. of living space. The location was excellent a very popular area of town. An area that commands high prices.
The seller had called in a few other agents for comparison and when we presented our CMA she told us we were way off. Monika and I looked at each other with amazement and we asked the seller “how much”? She said we were off about $25K at our HIGH Price. We felt the home was worth between $ 380-400K back in September of ‘06.
Our competition came in at $425K and of course the seller thought that was great and we feel that is the only reason she listed with our competition.
The home was on the market 189 days with one price reduction to 399,500 on December 8th.
Three months had gone by and it was finally reduced to where we thought their high price should have been originally. The home finally went pending after three more months on March 10th 2007. They closed on April 11th for $ 380,000.
I wonder how the seller now feels, she probably feels she lost $45,000 plus, having to spend another winter in her NH home. I wonder how she feels after paying her mortgage, taxes and insurance for many months longer than she had planned on. Do you think it made any difference in her thought process in the end?
I often wonder how much she would have sold the home for back in Sept. while the market was still somewhat ok if she listed with us for $399,000 and how long it would have taken to sell. I guess we will never know. I really feel she lost more money by trying to get more money by pricing her home that high to begin with.
It’s frustrating but I guess people will believe what they want to believe. We thought we had excellent rapport with her and she seemed impressed with our credentials…in the end money talks. And in the end she lost…What was her cost in not believing?
Serving Southern New Hampshire and Rockingham County
Hampstead NH 603-548-7728
Consumer comments are most welcome.
They key here is getting the right price in the beginning to attract more buyers. With few buyers out there there are a lot of homes for sale and that means buyers have more to choose from.
If it is priced right it will attract more buyers willing to pay a little more if multiple offers occur.