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"Designed to Sell": It Only Works When The Price Is Right

If you've ever seen "Designed to Sell", the HGTV hit, there's a moment at the end when, after the first Open House, the sellers are gleefully picking through multiple offers - or they are saying that they are going to hold out for the right one.

Today, I showed a house where the sellers were hold outs.

Now, I wasn't blown away by the staging in this house to begin with. And I was stunned when the seller told me that HGTV had done the living room, dining room and master bedroom. It was just OK. Lots of browns and tans - colors that don't appeal to a lot of people.

But that's sort of not the point I'm trying to make. The house has been around for a while, and it's not about the staging.

It's the price, stupid! At $525,000, the house was overpriced by about $100,000.

So to all of the sellers out there, it's really important to put your house on the market looking its absolute best. It's also important to put a number out there that is related to actual value of the house!

Posted by Patricia Kennedy on 06/20/2009 10:29 PM

Comments (35)

Pricing in the Home Selling Channel

pricing, washignton dc real estate

Originally posted at: Pat Kennedy - Your Washington, DC Real Estate Connection: "Designed to Sell": It Only Works When The Price Is Right

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35 Comments on "Designed to Sell": It Only Works When The Price Is Right

JUN

Amen to that, Pat! It goes to motivation. All the staging in the world won't sell an overpriced house.

Sharon

Pat, Isn't that the truth. Is just cringe when my clients fall in love with that over priced house. That's when I run the comparatives and reality sits in.

Patricia,

In our market the prices are so depressed that selling at market value is a challenge. Even slightly higher priced properties become unsellable, staged or not staged.

I guess there are always exceptions, but they do not change the market, they just help to outline it

Hi Patricia - I agree. The problem with sellers is that they think if a house is "pretty" it's worth more. Since buyers do buy on emotion, the better a house looks, the more easily it will sell, but appraisers don't go by prettiness, and many upgrades are personal and not what the most buyers may want. I understand that it is valuable to them, but maybe they should think about staying in their very personal home.

How many times have we heard that some "upgrade" cost $20,000 and the seller thinks it increased the value of his home at least twice that much. In actuality, my advice would sometimes be to undo that "upgrade" abecause to most people it is a downgrade.

Also, I do watch Designed to Sell and several of the other HGTV shows when I can, and sometimes the color and design choices are great. Other times I much prefer the before version to the after. My main focus with my sellers is on decluttering and cleaning, and doing away with the collections and unusual decor items.

When the price is right--staging is just the frosting on the cake.

I stopped believing what is on "reality TV" a long time ago.

Amen!

I had a seller that wanted to price his home at $225K in a neighborhood that tops out at $150K. Of course he was an out of state seller and the house was a flip that his daughter was involved with -needless to say it didn't get listed with me - and it's still for sale today after being on the market for over 670 days. I suppose that if he just waits, eventually the market will appreciate enough for him to finally get his price - but he may be waiting about another 10 years.

I think too many sellers are confusing entertainment with reality.

JUN

Patricia, I am being called in on properties that have been on the market with one,sometimes two other agents They were still of the mind frame... 'testing the market'. And of course let you know how much they "could have gotten" two years ago. After all their home has the "heavy duty nails" (anyone remember where that came from?)

Hi Pat... when it's all said and done, the reality is that good staging will help sell a house, but it will not overcome unrealistic pricing. Interesting story!

Price is the only thing that matters and with access to so much information buyers know as much about the neighborhood pricing as we do you just can't fool them so realize it and get the price in line or continue to be a hold out.

I've acutally looked up some of the HGTV houses that they say SOLD with multiple offers in our area in the MLS. In a number of cases they didn't sell or they sold for less than they indicated. It is all about price and the pretty staging is great but doesn't make it worth more.

Spot on Pat,

The price has got to be reflective of the true value of the home and not some pie in the sky hope of making a killing on the sale of the home. Sellers need to be realistic in their expectations.

I love watching HGTV, but I do find that the shows seem unrealistically edited. Its a battle we fight, even if we don't live in an area where HGTV stages, or films, or whatever. Seems there are so many fans who get so many of their ideas from there. sigh.

Remember the old adage, its about location, location, location?

Well not any more. Its price, price, price these days followed by location, condition and staging.

Hi Pat

You are right on target staging helps but price sells.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

When I've seen some of those HGTV shows, Pat, I'm irked that we don't get the "final verdict." I want to know list price at film time, subsequent days on market, sale price, etc.

Location, location, location, condition, price... And not always in that order.

Pat --- No kidding!!!!!!! $100,000 over priced --- WOW --- how stupid. Thanks for sharing -- you are right on.

:) LOL

Mama Liz's Signature

Pat, Today if a property is priced improperly, it's dead in the water.

Pat do the home owners actually think that johnny boy the real estate agent and a well educated,Internet savvy home buyer are going to submit an offer on a house that is $100,000 over priced? Are you kidding me? Gimme a break. We all know that the best home staging in the world will not sell a over priced listing. Great post.

Well said Pat. No amount of staging will sell an over priced home.

Last year I sold an HGTV house. It was staged quite well and looked wonderful. It only sold once the price came down! Funny how that works!

Patricia, I guess it helps if you watch tv, huh? I have not really put much energy into tv since 1976. I see it in passing, and such, so I generally know some of the shows, but don't follow any of them.

I did have a marketing-type person suggest that it is good business to watch these shows, to know what others are watching. hmmmm...

Oh, as for the pricing piece: ask high, and be prepared to wait. Or, set your price lower, and hope it sells quicker. If it hasn't been moving, maybe they know something we don't about the market in the near future. You think?

JUN

Patricia- We tell all the sellers who call us if they don't have to sell right now, don't. There has to be enough pain in your life to sell your house in our market. Period. Face the facts. I just told a lady the other day who thought she had equity in her house. She tells me, oh, I bought my house at the end of 2006. Hmmm, well, that is all she has to say to know she bought at the peak right before the bubble burst. There is no way. SHe has been trying to sell for over a year. I told her the only reason her house did not sell is that she has it priced too high for this market. I told her to think about it. Stay if you can stay. Because she is going to be a short sale. Does she want to take the hit on her credit? She has to decide if there is enough pain that she has to sell.

TV is entertainment. Their not selling houses, their selling their show. Like you said, what they do may not appeal to everyone. Pricing, especially in today's market, needs to reflect value.

Hi Pat, staging will help the home show well on line and get people in the door but price ( the right price that is ) will bring in offers.

Staging is to increase appeal and perceived value. It will not compensate for a price that is $100,000 too high...even if it is HGTV that did the staging. I deal with clients all the time that think their house is worth way more than it actually is.

Hi Pat-So true and the key to any property selling is it being priced right.

Pat - Without the right price it's like putting lipstick on a pig.

It's obvious that some sellers still have rose colored glasses on these days. Or, maybe they have Rip Van Winkle disease and have been asleep for the past couple of years, only recently waking up and still believing the market is the same!

Who cares if HGTV "staged" your home...it isn't worth the overpriced price tag you have put on it! Price it to sell, period.

JUN

Pat:

The right price will sale anything. Even a dump. The staging just makes it stand out of the other priced competitivele homes. Tere

JUN

I actually wrote about this on my Outside Blog many months ago (and struck up a friendship with fellow Rainer and New Jersey Stager - Juliet Johnson as a result). Your house has to look like a showroom. No doubt about it. But if it's not priced right, it...will...not...sell.

JUN

Great post, thanks for sharing!

Best wishes to you in 2009!

Joyce Logan, Realtor ~ Westerville, Ohio

Real Living HER Realtors, Ohio

JUN

Price and Staging need to go hand in hand; otherwise it's just a pretty house with an attitude!

JUL

Love the HGTV show ! They get alot of bang for their $2,000 budget !

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