When you have listed your home and aren't getting many showings at all, or getting showings but no offers, it can be very frustrating. I am sure the question you fall asleep to and wake up to is "Why isn't my home attractive to a buyer, what is wrong with it?" As a real estate agent in New Milford, CT I see it happening and it is
The A#1 prime reason your home hasn't sold in New Milford, CT. You overpriced it!
You have overpriced your home. I think this is the Number One reason why a home sits on the market. The median sales price in New Milford has been hovering at $270,000 for the last two years. Normally I look at average sales prices, however the median price does toss out the either really high end sales or the really low end foreclosures that can skew a market report. Buyers are still in charge, despite what the national news may be saying. Buyers decide if they think your house is worth what you are asking even before stepping foot in it and there is the kiss of death for many homes. Price your home according to local market conditions, condition of your home and location of your home.
You may tell your agent that you are looking at selling your home as a business deal rather than from an emotional standpoint, but it is rare when it happens. Home owners get very upset when they hear negative feedback and often disagree with it! That is emotional. If you owned a store that had a certain product line that no one was even looking let alone selling, you would discontinue the product and most likely drop the price like a rock on the inventory you had to get rid of it. Think about that when no one is looking at your home or making an offer on it!
Think about this. When asked what a home is worth by a seller I tell them ultimately it is worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it AND what their lender is willing to loan on it. Determining what that price is involves understanding the local market, the hyper local market and scrutinizing the condition and possible locational issues of your home.
This is often the hardest thing to grasp. Owners will often say that they don't want to "give it away". If you purchased your home in New Milford in the past 13 years, you may just feel that you are "giving it away", that you paid more for it than it is worth today. How about these statistic to blow you away!
Year 2000, New Milford, CT
442 single family homes sold with a median sales price of $229,500
Year 2001, New Milford, CT
427 single family homes sold with a median sales price of $255,000
Year 2002, New Milford, CT
390 single family homes sold with a median sales price of $284,500
Year 2013, New Milford, CT
251 single family homes sold with a median sales price of $270,000
Year to date, 2014, New Milford, CT
179 single family homes sold with a median sales price of $274,900
To me these numbers tell a very chilling story. We are still not out of the woods in New Milford, CT. It is STILL a fragile real estate market.
I know very few sellers who aren't emotionally invested in selling their homes. We are very emotionally attached to our homes, they are full of memories for us. If people don't like our homes enough to want to live there we feel insulted. I get all of that. However.... this is a problem that you must overcome if you truly want to sell your home. You should be trusting what your agent is telling you, if you have hired a professional agent based on skills, not based on who gave you the highest sales price when you interviewed for an agent.
I have said many times before in person and in my blogs, the two most important words when pricing your home to sell in New Milford, CT are...ACCORDING TO.
ACCORDING TO the local market conditions and ACCORDING TO the condition of your home. But not ACCORDING TO what you owe. That is irrelevant to the fair market value of your home. It is a harsh reality but it is THE reality.
And another harsh reality is that we still have short sales occurring in New Milford, CT and we still have people who are losing their homes to foreclosure. If you find out you owe more than your home is worth it is very important that you seek the help of an agent who is proficient in short sales, who understands what has to be done. They are still difficult, time consuming and frustrating, no matter what you might have heard.
So remember the real reason why your house hasn't sold in New Milford, CT is that it is overpriced. Overpriced according to our local market conditions, overpriced according to the location of your home and overpriced according to the condition of your home and overpriced according to the overall appeal of your home to buyers.
- If your house is top of the line buyers have to SEE VALUE IN THE PRICE.
- if your house is in decent shape buyers have to SEE VALUE IN THE PRICE.
- If your house is challenged in some way buyers have to SEE VALUE IN THE PRICE.
There is no way around it. Overpricing your home is an emotional response to both the memories you have tangled up with your home, what you originally paid for it (because when you purchased the home you BELIEVED that the home would only increase in value) AND you are emotionally tied to what you still owe on it.
If you want more information on what your home is worth in New Milford, CT and information on how to get your home sold here, give me a call at 203.460.1775.
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