If your currently on the market, negotiating an offer, or recently sold your home, chances are you have asked yourself these following questions.
Why hasn't my home sold yet?
Why don't I have an offer after 10 showings?
Why did that offer come in so low?
What is with these buyers asking for every little thing?
How do I increase my homes showing activity?
Let's talk about each of these points individually, and hopefully shed some light on the answers to these common questions.
Why hasn't my home sold yet?
Whether your home has been on the market for a week or a year, there is a buyer for your home. The problem we are seeing right now is it's a buyers market, which means a buyer wants the best value, or they will move on.
Your home has to be the very best, or at least in the top 3 homes in your price range/area to sell. This isn't something random I came up with, it's called absorption rate.
If your house is in a price range/area with 20 other homes. There are enough buyers out there right now to buy 3 of those homes a month. So, out of the 20 homes that are on the market in that price range every month, yours has to be in the top 3, or you won't get it sold, let alone, an offer.
If you truly need to get your home sold, and have the motivation to do what it takes, make your home one of the top 3 homes out there. (I have very detailed information that I provide to all of my sellers to make sure they know what it takes to be in that top 3, and I help them achieve it.)
If you are thinking about selling your Logan, Utah home, or are currently in the Cache Valley real estate market. If you would like a free consultation to see what it takes to get in the top 3, feel free to contact me, and I will explain it to you in great detail.
Why don't I have an offer after 10 showings?
If your home is priced right and in selling condition, on average, in the cache valley real estate market, you should get 1 offer per 10 showings. Your now up to 15 showings, and you haven't seen an offer yet, whats the deal?
There could be a number of things, but lets talk about the most common. Price! The almighty dollar, I know you don't want to hear it, but it may in fact, or most likely is, your price. It's very important to stay ahead of the market. If your house was put on the market and it was over priced, you now have to catch up to what the market dictates your price should be.
If you price your home ahead of the market, you will have that offer in no time. An experienced agent that keeps up with there local market should know where the market is heading. By knowing where the market is heading, the comps for your home, and what has been selling, your agent should be able to tell you where you need to price your home to get it sold.
To define where you need to be priced at takes a deep look into the tale of two markets scenario. On one hand you have the market of overpriced homes, on the other hand, you have the market of homes priced correctly. The 80% of homes that are overpriced, and the 20% of homes that are priced right. Which homes do you think will be getting the showings and the offers? It's very important to be in the priced correctly market, or your really not in the market at all.
The next major factor of a house not selling could be condition. To sell your home, you need to be a responsible seller. Your home has to be in the very best condition for the price your at.
De-clutter, clean, do the yard work, clean the carpets, do the little repairs you have been putting off, get the pet smell out of the carpet, make the kids clean up there rooms, so on and so on... If you talk with your agent decide if a stager would be right for your situation, or if the agent has any suggestions to create that shining home you bought.
There is a different reason or multiple reasons depending on any given situation, if your home isn't selling, find out why, and fix it, or take it off the market.
Why did that offer come in so low?
I am sure you have heard the saying, "it's a buyers market", we know that. But why did my offer come in 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80 thousand low? Well, let's look at it through the buyers eyes.
Buyer: I have seen every home in my price range, all 30 of them, and I like this one. But with so many homes to choose from, I am going to throw in a low ball offer, and see if I can get that steal of a deal. If I don't I will just move on to one of the other homes and try a low offer there.
In today's market, most buyers aren't necessarily buying a home because they have to. They may be buying a home because of the market conditions, or what they have heard in the national news. The media has been screaming low prices all across the nation, now this may be true in some markets but not all. If you get that low ball offer, you have two decisions to make.
First, reject the offer and not even deal with it.
Second, and the one most agents recommend, is counter back at close to listing price. If your home is priced at market value, and you know it, this should give you an idea on how serious a potential buyer is. If they come up, then I would consult your agent, and see if it's worth it to negotiate. If they stand firm, you may just have to fold and take what you can get, or you can reject the offer, and wait for something else. This decision is up to you, the seller, but make sure you truly think it through.
Don't just reject an offer because your mad, face facts, take a good look at the market, and decide how long you can really hold out, or how soon you need to move. Of course, every situation is different, but in my professional opinion, it's not the best idea to straight up reject a low ball offer. In a buyers market, you are going to have to play ball to get your home sold.
What is with these buyers asking for every little thing?
Again this is called the "buyer's market syndrome." (Yes I just made that cute little name up!) In this market, buyers think, and act accordingly, that they can take the seller on a roller coaster ride. The same happens in a sellers market, the seller usually won't budge on price and concessions.
When a buyer sends an offer with 3 pages of concessions, or an addendum with 3 pages of fixes. It makes you, and me as a sellers agent, want to throw the fax machine through the wall! Of course, if we did that, we would then have to replace the fax machine all the time, and that wouldn't be very cost effective.
The other option, and the more logical one, is to figure out exactly what is going to be a deal breaker, and just get it done. Your agent should have a good feel for what these things are going to be. Whether it be repairs, concessions, or your autographed American Idol picture of Simon. Find out what will make the deal happen and decide if it's worth the hassle.
How do I increase my homes showing activity?
Market, market, market! Tell your friends, tell your not so much friends, tell your neighbors that don't like you, (they will definitely help you sell your home!), tell the mail man, tell the lady at the gas station, TELL EVERYONE. I AM SELLING MY HOME! Your agent is a professional marketer, or at least should be, and they will do their job. (If they aren't find a new one.)
Just because you have your home on the MLS doesn't guarantee showings, it's a great tool, but you should be pro-active in the process of selling your home. I like to give my sellers a little lesson on marketing their home when I list their homes.
It keeps my sellers in full time "I am selling my home" mode, and when the time comes, their ready. When your time comes to market your home, do it, and don't be shy about it.
This 2009 real estate market is not the same as it was last year, or 2 years ago when you bought your home. If you want your home sold, you can't dwell on the past market, you need to, at the very least, stay in the market. Better yet, stay ahead of the market, and your home WILL SELL!
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