Sellers cutting prices??? Just list it at the right price from the start!!! I keep reading articles and blogs about sellers cutting prices over the extended and often long shelf life of a listing. I have an announcement to make..."This is not 2006...it is a buyer's market...the market is flooded with available homes...there are foreclosures, REOs, HUD homes and short sales that you are competing with!"
The way I see it sellers have three options in this market...
- Price it right and sell it!
- Price it wrong and reduce it until it sells for less than it should have!
- Don't put your home on the market until things stablize!
This is not the time for "testing" the market to see how you will fare. Unless you have a lot of time and money on your hands and love the thrill of people walking through your home on a moment's notice for months on end. I have actually advised people to just sit on their property for awhile. If you do not need to sell, why mess around in this market. With interest rates still low and deals-a-plenty out there, you are going to take a beating from speculators and investors who are shopping for deals (as they well should be...my thoughts about those who have credit and cash buying investment property right now is a whole other blog topic!) and motivated buyers who know they can catch a good deal.
Here are some interesting price cutting statistics from Trulia.com:
Sellers Continue to Cut Prices...Nearly 25 percent of all U.S. homes for sale on Aug. 1 had a price cut in July, according to data compiled by the real estate Web site Trulia.com. The percentage of price reductions has continued to increase month-over-month for the past three months.
The total value slashed off active listings now totals $27.8 billion. The average reduction was 10 percent from the original price.
Cities showing significant increases in the percentage of listings with price cuts from June 1 to Aug. 1 were:
* Fresno, Calif.: 67 percent
* Colorado Springs, Colo.: 27 percent
* Kansas City, Mo.: 25 percent
* Oklahoma City, Okla.: 24 percent
* Albuquerque, N.M.: 22 percent.
Cities with significant declines in the percentage of listings with price reductions included:
* Dallas: -42 percent
* Las Vegas: -33 percent
* Louisville, Ky.: -33 percent
* Los Angeles: -19 percent
* Washington, D.C.: -17 percent
Source: Trulia.com (08/14/2009)
These are not the market conditions for testing the waters to see how things play out. If you are placing your home on the market when a move is not totally necessary, chances are you will find yourself frustrated and shopworn, wishing you had waited for the next market shift. With all the new rules and regulations involving lending and appraisal, chances are if you get someone to pay your price, you will be hard pressed to get an appraisal or financing. Don't list your home for sale at a price that is against what your real estate professional has suggested, hoping for someone to "just bring an offer!" More often than not, the sellers who take that approach end up selling their home for less than the agents original suggested list price.
For assistance in marketing your Texas Hill Country property in today's market, contact Jeani Thomas Richie, Broker of EXIT Hill Country Realty!
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