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Overpriced Homes-Sell Slower and For Less

By
Real Estate Agent with Munson Realty Southern California Real Estate

Overpriced Homes-Sell Slower and For Less If there’s anything we can take away from the plethora of Bank Owned Foreclosures is they certainly know how to price a home to move!

I maintain that you almost always shoot yourself in the foot by overpricing your home. Your home will almost overpriced homesalways sale at or above market value by pricing at or below market value.

So why is that? Well think back at when YOU were buying a home. Remember when a “great deal” came on the market and everybody and their agents were “swarming” to the open house? You placed your offer only to find out their were 10 other offers and they were going above the asking price? This “bargain price” created an auction affect and got people excited. THAT is how banks are pricing their homes and if you want your home to move quickly and for the most amount of money, this is a winning strategy.

So why don’t sellers do it? I think it’s because there’s a little voice inside of our head (and pocketbook) that says “what if”.

“What if”- I can get $50K over market value. (even if someone were excited enough about your home to pay $50K over appraised value, their lender won’t loan the money if the value isn’t there. No loan, no buyer)

“What if”- I don’t get multiple offers and I only get one offer (May be still overpriced!)

Often fear (and greed) hold us back from making smart choices! Don’t feel bad though, even Real Estate Agents are guilty of senselessly overpricing their homes. Somehow when it’s our turn to sell all of our “market knowledge” becomes goo and leaks out of our ears! It’s like the hairdresser with bad hair!

The bottom line is, almost always, an Over Priced House will sit on the market longer and sell for less than it should have had it been priced strategically from the beginning.

 

Copyright © 2010 By Stephen Munson,Munson RealtyPasadena|Overpriced Homes-Sell Slower and For Less*overpriced homes,overpriced house

Comments(117)

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Bobi Bigelow
Jim Green Realty - Fort Myers, FL
Advertising / Marketing Administrator

The 2 agents in my office and I just discussed this same topic last month - your blog conveyed it perfectly. Great job, Stephen!

Aug 09, 2010 02:45 AM
Janet Fetterman
Royal Shell Real Estate Inc - Ocala, FL
Selling Luxury Lifestyles...

Hi Stephen- Bank properties are listed in "As Is" condition, this means that the BPO asked for "Cost to Cure" i.e. Repairs Cost and they took that Repair Cost OFF OF THE "AS REPAIRED" value.  Therefore, a non-reo, Good Condition home will be priced higher than the shabby REO property.

The Non-REO Listings are in competition for the few buyers and they are competing with Short Sales and REO's because this is what is driving the market. To over price a house, even if they "get their price" will be squashed at appraisal time. So the choice is to look for Cash Buyers Only who don't mind paying more than a property is worth. This is not realistic, our Buyers and Buyer's Agents are too sophisticated and informed to fall for this.

The market and its values...are what they are.

Aug 09, 2010 05:08 AM
Don Humphrey
Coldwell Banker-homes for sale in Vancouver, WA - Vancouver, WA
Coldwell Banker

That's why i suggest to my seller that if we don't get an offer within 30 days, they should realize that it isn't going to magically sell and we have to re-visit the price. We let the market dictate the price, not the seller, and if they have been warned of this up front it's easier to get them to see this.

Aug 09, 2010 05:34 AM
Valerie Duncan Stewart
(Metro First Realty) - Oklahoma City, OK
Real Estate Agent-Broker, OKC, OK

Stephen,

Great post and so true. Pricing right is key to a successful close and happy sellers and buyers!

Aug 09, 2010 06:10 AM
Debbe Perry
Real Living Carolina Property - Morganton, NC
828.439.3084 Morganton/Lake James NC

Well priced and in great condition - this is what's selling in this market. My first BIC (and mentor) said, "Sometimes it's  best to be the second listing agent... ." So true.

Am getting ready to re-blog right now!

Aug 09, 2010 06:47 AM
Lenn Harley
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate - Leesburg, VA
Real Estate Broker - Virginia & Maryland

HA!  I don't know what the record is or average, but this post has a very large number of re-bloggs.

Aug 09, 2010 06:56 AM
Marsha Cash
RE/MAX Advantage - Stockbridge, GA

I haven't used that reasoning with a seller, but have thought about it (pricing lower to get multiple offers).  Starting high and coming down sure doesn't work!

Aug 09, 2010 08:24 AM
Jamie Friedman
eXp Realty - Kapaa, HI
Kauai Real Estate Connection

Great Blog! I hate to be redundant but SO TRUE!

Aug 09, 2010 02:54 PM
Mary Campbell
Abrams Coastal Properties - Newport Beach, CA

Great post, I totally agree. I just wrote something similar my self a few days ago!

Aug 09, 2010 03:46 PM
Don Wixom
RE/MAX Executives Nampa, ID - Nampa, ID
"Looking out for your next move..."tm

Stephen, you are right on!  Price is everything in this market! The home must shine & be price AHEAD of the market... Great post!

Aug 10, 2010 02:49 AM
John DL Arendsen
Casa de Aire y Sol - San Diego, CA
Casa de Aire y Sol

Bottom line is the Affordability Index. As long as you're living in an area where only one out of four employed people can afford to buy a home they are over priced for that average Joe. In my area it's going to be a long time before homes will be affordable if ever. Geographic and climatic desireability drives prices up. Wealthy folks like to live in nice areas and will pay the price driving the affordability index even further off the charts for the average wage earner. It's a vicious circle in this area. I don't see prices going down inasmuch as they have actually gone up in the San Diego area this year whence many other areas of the USA are still in somewhat of a tailspin. Hope that makes some sense.

Aug 10, 2010 04:44 AM
Doug Dawes
Keller Williams Evolution - 447 Boston Street, Suite #5, Topsfield, MA - Topsfield, MA
Your Personal Realtor®

Great post. My wish is that real estate agents would just refuse to take overpriced listings. This much easier said than done as we work through this current market. Real Estate professionals do not make the market... they sell the market.

Aug 11, 2010 03:27 AM
Pasadena Short Sale Agents Pasadena Short Sales
Munson Realty Southern California Real Estate - Pasadena, CA

Thanks everyone for all the responses! Unfortunately I've been sick and have only had energy to deal with my wonderful clients.! I appreciate that most of us are on the same page with pricing!

Thanks, Thanks and Triple Thanks!

 

Pasadena Homes For Sale

Aug 11, 2010 04:21 AM
Anne Vigneri
CASA VERO Staging & Redesign - Albuquerque, CA
Serving the Mariposa California

I experienced this personally when we sold our home a few years ago. Our Realtor suggested a price that we thought was scary low.  We KNEW that she was a hard working, successful agent.. BUT... REALLY ???.. THAT LOW???  .. We were reluctant of course, but we agreed... The house went on the market at $459,000 and sold nine days later ( with nine offers) for $750,000

I BELIEVE in this strategy,,, But at the same time, if you only get one good offer and it's for the asking price,, you need to be prepared for that too!.. Especially in this market..

Aug 11, 2010 05:16 AM
Pasadena Short Sale Agents Pasadena Short Sales
Munson Realty Southern California Real Estate - Pasadena, CA

Hi Anne, Thanks for the "Sellers Viewpoint"! Glad you raised your hand! :)

Aug 11, 2010 09:02 AM
Crystal D'Angelo
Keller Williams Frisco Stars - Plano, TX

This is so true.  It is such a challenge to get homeowners to understand this strategy.  If I have clients who want the "what if"  strategy I will take them to preview a few other homes in the neighborhood so we can compare and price BELOW our competition.  Thanks for the great article!

Aug 12, 2010 04:15 AM
Kerry Lucasse
eXp Realty - Urban Nest Real Estate Group - Atlanta, GA
Your Urban Nest Atlanta Real Estate Consultant

Excellent post!  Here in Atlanta, homes that are priced correctly sell in 26 days (on average) and those that overprice end up taking almost 300 days to sell.... if they ever do sell.

Aug 13, 2010 05:53 PM
Carol West
Carol West Real Estate, LLC - Hillsboro, OR
Real Estate Agent, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Portland

Thanks for a great post and very good information to share with our clients.

Aug 13, 2010 06:06 PM
Lanette Branch
Taylor Properties - Bel Air, MD
Bel Air, MD Real Estate Agent

Stephen are right on with this one.  Love, love, love the 'shoot yourself in the foot' analogy; it really gets your point across.

Aug 29, 2010 05:47 AM
Dave Halpern
Dave Halpern Real Estate Agent, Inc., Louisville, KY (502) 664-7827 - Louisville, KY
Louisville Short Sale Expert

Yes, it's a seller's market right now in 2017. However, the market will teach some irrationally exuberant sellers that they can't get whatever price they conjure up.

Nov 26, 2017 03:48 PM