Author Topic: should I reduce the list price of my house for sale (realtor is pushing for it)?  (Read 3766 times)

bornInFlorida

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I recently listed my home in California for sale. In the two weeks that it has been listed, no offers have come in. My realtor has held two open houses as well. I priced my homes about 8% above the last sold home mainly because my home has several upgrades (kitchen, bathroom and more). My realtor has been telling me to reduce the listing price by 5% has he thinks it is overpriced. Given that my home is in a good neighborhood and there aren't too many properties in supply with the same specs as that of my home, I feel like the lack of strong interest/offers is due to the slow down in the real estate market in general due to schools being back in session. I feel like I should leave the listing price in place for a couple or more weeks instead of reducing it now.

Question:
Should I reduce my list price or how much longer should I wait?
Given that the Christmas holidays are only three months away, are we headed to slow market in general? When would the market pick back up - basically when do buyers start looking again for home purchase?

Any advice would be appreciated.

GizmoTX

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How badly do YOU need/want to sell?

Lowering the price in just 2 weeks signals that you are desperate & will go lower, IMHO. It costs your realtor very little to reduce the price compared to your return. On the other hand, leaving a price too high for a long period of time (months not weeks) could mean you miss buyers.

Were your open houses well attended & did you get good feedback?

cchrissyy

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California is a big place.  In my area, no offers in 2 weeks would mean something is very wrong, maybe with the price or maybe with the house itself. But maybe your area is different. Can you be more specific?

Frankies Girl

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If you have had no offers and very little lookers, then yes, you have it priced too high.

You hired an agent to sell your house, and they've given you their professional opinion based on the neighborhood and the upgrades/amenities in your house. It doesn't matter what you think it's worth, because no one else agrees with you. Stop letting emotion get in the way of getting this sold.

Lower the price.


matchewed

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Your price shouldn't be based on what upgrades you do but on the market. If you're getting no offers you're too high.

Finallyunderstand

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Realtor of 10 years here.   

Every seller I've worked with over those years thinks their home has something other homes do not.  EVERY SELLER.  I have yet to find a seller who says their home is equal to or not as nice as another persons home that is similar.

If your realtor is experienced, listen to them.  Sometimes you have to swallow your pride and listen to the market...(no offers)

Dicey

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Your house is only worth what someone else is willing to pay. Had you priced it well to begin with, you might have drawn multiple offers. That ship has sailed, due to your own stubbornness. Why did you hire a realtor if you're going to ignore their advice?

As a buyer, when I see a house that's overpriced, I laugh at the arrogance of the seller and keep moving.

Car Jack

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If your house isn't selling, the price is too high.  Period.  To buyers, houses are widgets.  There are plenty of widgets around.  The ones slightly higher than average price don't sell.  The ones 8% too high won't even be visited.

Goldielocks

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The price of the home I live in now was overpriced, it was the first place I looked at because it had a workshop and a view, which was rare locally.   The owners thought it was hot stuff because of that, a newish bathroom and a 10 year old kitchen (in a 40 year old home).

So I waited, looked at many other homes, and then bought this place when the price had fallen by 28% about 14 months later..

clarkfan1979

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An upgraded kitchen doesn't really make a property unique. Someone can buy a fixer for cheap and make a kitchen better than yours. Something like a large lot would be unique that cannot change.

My dad owned the largest lot on a lake of about 100-150 homes. He sold it for 450K and the buyers gutted the entire house. They probably spent 400K on completely rebuilding the house and expanding the square footage.


acroy

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If your realtor is experienced, listen to them.

^^ Amen. Trust the pro.

SuperSecretName

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8% is enormous.  On a 500k house, that is 40k dollars.

you aren't special.  your house isn't special.  it's overpriced.

Car Jack

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The vast majority of buyers will simply not look at overpriced houses.  It's how I got mine.  The seller was in a huge up market when they built the house but it turned around fast.  They listed it for $380k.  It sat and sat and sat and the market continued to go down.  I'm not shy or scared so came in, decided I liked it and offered them $225k.  You'd think everyone would be running and screaming and waving their hands in the air with me insulting like that.  What actually happened is that they countered at $226.5k and I bought it.

dycker1978

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If your realtor is experienced, listen to them.

^^ Amen. Trust the pro.
+1.  If you are going to pay the thousands of dollars to hire a pro to sell your house, why don't you listen to them?

Dicey

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Maybe list it yourself. The realtor has used their best efforts. Two open houses in two weeks followed by a request to lower the price. Ask the realtor to contact some of the buyers who came to the open house and get their opinions.
Wait - you're suggesting the OP ask the realtor to do extra work, so OP can in turn cut out the realtor? Wow, just wow. And not a good wow.

The OP's unrealistic selling price is more likely the problem than lack of effort by the realtor.

Weathering

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Sorry. You misinterpreted what I wrote. It's unfortunate for some that we interpret what we ourselves are thinking instead of what is written/said.
But as you said, asking a realtor to do any work is not going to be well received.

Basenji

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Meh, the house we bought was overpriced, we gave a lowball offer ($50k under), did a little horsetrading with the owners who were motivated to sell, and came in at a final cost $30k under asking. It depends on how hot your area is and how motivated you are as a seller.
ETA: and they had just put in a new kitchen and bath, which made us interested, but not fiscally wanton.
ETA2: it had been on the market for a year (!) and had already come down in price, so that told us we could negotiate. Two weeks doesn't seem like that long. Ask the realtor the average selling time for your neighborhood. For example, now where I live houses sell in days. Offers come in before the open houses.
« Last Edit: September 22, 2017, 02:49:57 PM by Basenji »

Dicey

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Sorry. You misinterpreted what I wrote. It's unfortunate for some that we interpret what we ourselves are thinking instead of what is written/said.
But as you said, asking a realtor to do any work is not going to be well received.
Yeah, I don't think so. I read exactly what you wrote. Suggesting that I misinterpreted what you said might mean that you did not present your points clearly. There's a handy edit button available should you wish to make clarifications.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!