Foot traffic and what it could mean for your listing...
The anticipation of a new listing is strong all the way around. The sellers have been working hard to get the home in perfect showing condition. The listing agent has logged hours in creating just the right verbage for the MLS and flyers, editing and re-editing numerous photographs and video in order to showcase the home in just the right light. They're also spending some serious time behind the computer screen making sure that the listing appears in as many places on the internet as possible. The buyers in the market are always eager for some "fresh blood" too.
Day one for the listing has come - everything is "live". And now you wait... (**insert sound of crickets chirping**).
In a correctly priced listing, sellers can expect to experience the biggest rush of showings within the first two weeks of being on the market. You've got just two weeks to capture the largest pool of buyers and to 'wow' them.
Who are these people looking at your home, anyway?
In the first two weeks of your listing, these are the buyers who have been set up on auto alerts for when a new listing pops up on the market. These are the people who WANT to see homes JUST LIKE YOURS! Maybe it falls in their price range, desired location and has a few of the features that are important to them. So all of "these" people flock to see the new "doggy in the window"...hoping it's just what they're looking for.
Two weeks later...
If the home hasn't seen any great foot traffic then it's time to look at PRICE.
Why Price?
As buyers evaluate all of the homes online, your listing has not made the cut in terms of value. Buyers are comparing your home to others and if they begin saying things like "well, this one is SMALLER and they want MORE money" or "this one only has three bedrooms and all the others have four" or "this one doesn't even have a garage and they want HOW MUCH?"...it's the kiss of death. You're actually HELPING to sell OTHER properties! Your listing agent will probably begin to get Thank You cards from competing listing agents (ok - not really).
But let's say you've been getting some GREAT foot traffic...but no one wants to come back and look a second time? Or submit an offer? You've got yourself a CONDITION problem!
Why Condition?
The buyers liked the price and online marketing enough to ask their buyer's agent for a showing. Eagerly, they arrive at your home and one of the following occurs:
-The home's location is a bust: maybe it's on the corner of a busy street, backs to commercial, has a giant cell tower in the backyard that conveniently did not show up in ANY photo. What used to be a competitively priced house is now overpriced. The seller MUST reduce price in order to compensate for the negative feature.
-The home SMELLS! The pictures were pristine! But when you walk in the smell of ______ (smoke, cat urine, mold) overwhelms you. Until computers can emit smells, you can't tell this until you actually walk into the home. And believe me, once a buyer smells a bad odor, it's VERY HARD to encourage them to look any further, much less submit an offer.
-The floorplan is terrible. It's very costly to remodel a home, so when a buyer sees a floorplan that just won't work for their situation, they'll say "next..."
Whatever the case may be, there's something about this home's condition that has the buyer immediately put an "x" on their list and not come back to see it.
In both cases...a price reduction MUST be made if you would like the home to sell in a timely fashion. And the quicker this adjustment is made, the better!!
Don't be one of those great homes that waits until day 250 to make the price reduction you should have made 220 days ago. Now, you're a STALE LISTING. People are FINALLY coming to see the home and STILL - no offers!
Why?
They ask themselves this question: "Why is it still on the market?"
And they begin to think SOMETHING IS WRONG! "What's wrong with it??"
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