Howdy my friends and future customers. Today I want to write a little bit about proper pricing and what happens to your property if you don't get the pricing right, right from the get go. I wrote a post last August about a listing appointment I went on, it was titled "Counting the chickens before they hatch". This particular listing appointment came from one of my expired listing letters and I knew before I went that it was going to be difficult to get it priced properly. It was overpriced by about $65,000. You can read my prior post if you want more details.

Anyway, I thought I had the listing but after about a week of going back and forth on pricing and how much they were willing to pay me, I turned it down and they listed with another REALTOR®. This property was first placed on the market in March of 2006. The market was still pretty good back then in Poinciana Fl. And it would have been a good time to get the house sold. But unfortunately they were way too high on price and it just sat.

Now, when they met with me in August of 2006, there still would have been a very good chance of getting it sold. Of course in order for this to happen it would have needed to be priced right. The price I had suggested of $289,000 would have worked. How do I know? Well, I've been selling properties in Poinciana Fl for 13 years and have sold hundreds of homes, including three on their street. I'm an expert on pricing Poinciana real estate. The market was just starting the down turn in Poinciana and they were not going to get lucky. Getting it priced right was critical if they truly needed to sell. They chose not to take my advice. They re-listed at a higher price, than I had suggested, and with a REALTOR® who charges a couple of points less than I.

Let's take a look at the listing history. This will show you how they lost the pricing game. As of today, the property has been on the market for 16 months and counting.

• March of 2006 it was first placed on the market at $360,000 ($70,000 too high).

• July of 2006 it was reduced to $325,000.

• August 0f 2006 the listing was withdrawn. This is when they met with me and I had suggested $289,000.

• September they listed at $299,900 ($11,000 too high). Values in Poinciana Fl have now started a rapid decline.

• October of 2006 they reduced the price to $279,900(too little, too late).

• March 13^th of 2007 the listing expired.

• Two days later, they listed again, at the same price $279,900. Same REALTOR®.

• Two days later they reduced it to $264,900.

• June 2007 (3 months later) it when pending.

• Three weeks later the deal fell through and it went back on the market at $264,900.

• Two days later they reduced it to $259,900.

• Three weeks later (July 2007) it was reduced to $254,999.

• The next day it was withdrawn.

• Three days later it was listed at $259,900 with a new REALTOR®. Where it currently sits.

So here we are, 16 months and three REALTORS® later, still on the market. Still trying to sell. And after $100,000 in price reductions.....still over priced. The market in Poinciana Fl has crashed and values have and are plummeting. This property MAY be worth $229,000 IF they get lucky.

Folks, does it get any clearer than this? If they would have priced it correctly from the get go this house would have sold a year ago for $40,000 more than where it is listed now. Chasing a declining market downward is a losing proposition. It will cost you thousands of dollars.

I hope this illustration sheds some light on the importance of proper pricing. You will NOT get lucky in a declining market. Contact an experienced REALTOR® and listen to what they have to say. Don't make me write a Blog post about your house! What say you?

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