Some gentle listing advice:
Door County property Sellers, I’m not pricing your property to LIST, I’m pricing your property to SELL. This post is about pricing your property to sell quickly—and why we do it—to get you the most money in the least amount of time possible.
HOW SHOULD I PRICE MY DOOR COUNTY PROPERTY?
WORK WITH A LOCAL EXPERT
One of my biggest fears is the Seller that comes with unrealistic expectations based on market conditions from “before” or the “expert knowledge” they have gleaned from other sources, including the dreaded Zestimate (which can be so horrifically inaccurate). That’s the Seller that is relying on comments from friends that “you actually have a MILLION DOLLAR VIEW!” or the Seller that is relying on an old appraisal (and any appraisal that is older than 6-8 months is an old appraisal here).
The Door County real estate market is no different than the stock market, and we remind our clients of this fact daily. In fact, the only constant in our market is actually the fact that it is constantly changing. The Door County real estate market changes daily, weekly and monthly based on new listings and where they are priced, and the actual sales that come onto the market each week. Door County real estate for sale can be a roller coaster—with ups and downs every month that change the market significantly.
The demand for realistically-priced properties in Door County, Wisconsin is extremely significant right now for several reasons, but basically we know that well-priced properties in Sister Bay, Fish Creek, Ephraim and Baileys Harbor (and especially the City of Sturgeon Bay) are selling within DAYS of coming on market. So what do I need to consider when pricing your Door County property to sell?
- Properties that get offers with financing need to appraise out (and properties that get cash offers may contain appraisal contingencies, too). I don’t like arguing with appraisers (which is something that is necessary from time to time on a property) because I simply may not win that argument on where your property is priced. The appraiser may use comparables that I strongly disagree with, and I may STILL lose that argument.
- Properties that are well-priced spend SIGNIFICANTLY less time on market, command close to full price (and are actually receiving multiple offers right now); and
- As someone that regularly works with Buyers on my own Door County properties for sale, it is very evident Buyers are looking to work with Brokers with a realistic picture of the market and market conditions.
While as a Door County listing agent, I wish ALL of my properties could be million dollar properties, the reality is that they are NOT (although I have had a few million-plus sales this year). The reality is that properties need to be properly priced to sell. I appreciate the Sellers who listen to me and read our reports weekly as to Door County real estate market conditions, and look at our newsletter and monthly reports for Door County property sales.
My biggest fear is overpricing a property. The other Door County MLS agents in our market and our state are the barometer of the first warning sign that a property may be overpriced---when the agents don’t call me and a listing sits, it means there is something wrong with location, condition or price.
Overpricing Door County properties means that I am spending my hard-earned money on a weekly basis on NOTHING, and it is something that is frustrating to both me and to my clients---the listings that get no calls, no showings, and no offers. Some Sellers ask, when advised listing price is high, to “bring us low-ball offers!” Well, we can’t bring low-ball offers if we can’t get buyers in the door, because the property is overpriced.
We do an extensive Comparative Market Analysis on ALL of our Door County properties that are new to market, and advise our clients regularly of market conditions, but the realism is that the appraisal you had done in 2013 is NOT applicable to today’s market. Your Estimated Market Value as given on your tax bill is NOT necessarily your true market value---that is a snapshot in time of the last time the appraiser looked at your property. Remember, things change weekly.
Properly priced properties for sale in Door County sell. And we have had many sales in 2018 because Sellers are realizing that our Door County real estate market is red-hot in some areas, including Sister Bay, Fish Creek, Ephraim, Egg Harbor, Baileys Harbor and Ellison Bay and they are LISTING TO SELL. We also have had a much larger pool of Door County property buyers in 2018 than in 2016-2017 for residential homes.
That being said, one would still think that Door County Sellers would realize that they are in competition with a lot of inventory (some of this inventory has been on market for over a year, with price reduction after price reduction (showing that the property wasn’t properly priced in the first place))…but some Sellers only hear what they want to hear from an agent that will overprice their Door County property based on obsolete or incorrect data. Real data and sales facts make no difference to these Sellers. In fact, one actually said to me “Why don’t we re-list next year at the same price, I’m in no hurry to sell”. Oh, my….Mr. or Mrs. Seller—I know that prices go up and down, and we’ve discussed the market. I’ve spent money all year on your property and we need a price reduction based on current market conditions of NOW.
Is it time to SELL your Door County property? Please contact us for a Comparative Market Analysis today. And if you want to review the entire Door County Multiple Listing Service to see other homes that are similar to yours in size, location, age, number of bedrooms and baths, visit our website TODAY at moredoorcounty.com
Our goal is not to list, our goal is to sell. Door County property Sellers, we are not pricing your property to LIST, we are pricing your property to SELL. Contact me for more information on selling your Door County property today.
Comments(0)