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Just how many frogs am I going to have to kiss?

By
Real Estate Agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties Licensed in Connecticut

If you want to sell your house in New Milford, you are going to have to kiss quite a few of those suckers.

kiss that real estate frogOne comment I hear over and over again from sellers (many of whom are not on their first go round) is that they only want serious buyers to come look. I know it is difficult to get the house ready for a showing. And it is so disappointing when those frogs don't like it, for whatever reason. The neighborhood, the colors inside the house (yes they can paint, no they don't want to), it's too close to whatever, it's too far away. Yes, you think they would have known ALL of these things if they looked at the photos, looked at a map. But they want to buy a house, and it isn't chump change they are paying. So they want to make sure they see EVERYTHING they possibly can before they decide. And your house passed the online test. 

My advice is... kiss as many frogs as possible. You never know which one will turn into that much coveted prince (ss, as the case may be)! 

I just ran a few stats for New Milford, CT. According to the MLS, pucker up baby!

The absorption rate in New Milford today is 20 MONTHS. That means if no other homes come on the market it will take 20 MONTHS to sell our current inventory. Last month it was 12 months. That is still a long, long time. Of course that could change by the end of the month as more sales happen. But it will still be high. 

And that's not all.... the average days on market right now is a whopping 273 days! Last month it was 185. 

So, my advice to you is this. Kiss any and every frog that comes along. You never know which one of those frogs is the one. 

It is a buyers market here in New Milford, CT. Still. It has been for quite a while. If you are reading about other places in the United States that have a robust real estate market, remember, they kissed their frogs. And now they don't have to kiss quite to many to sell. 

The bottom line is this. If you want to sell there are a few things you MUST do. 

  • Clean it up, spruce it up, make it look as good as you possibly can. Inside AND outside. 
  • Hire an agent that will present your home in the best light possible. 

Make sure you price it according to: 

  1. the local real estate market
  2. the condition of your home
  3. the location of your home

Do not price it according to what you need to get. If you NEED to get more than it's worth, that is a horse of a different color. 

And most importantly,  pucker up baby, you got a lot of frogs to kiss!

kiss those real estate frogs

If you want to know how much your home is worth in THIS real estate market in New Milford, CT, give me a call at 203.460.1775. I can help you to get over your ranidaphobia. (fear of frogs). I will also show you my unique marketing program, designed to get you as many frogs as possible to kiss so that you can find the prince!

Posted by

Andrea Swiedler, Realtor, Southern Litchfield County Real Estate

2017 President, Greater New Milford Board of Realtors

2017 Connecticut Magazine 5 Star Realtor

 

 Search homes for sale in Litchfield County, CT.

 

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Litchfield County Regional Office,375 Danbury Rd, New Milford, CT 06776

 

© Andrea Swiedler 2009 - 2017

 Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain

Comments (52)

Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

Oh, you are so right about the frog kissing. The more eyeballs that get to actually see the house, the bigger the chances that someone will purchase it. Selling a house is a pain in the butt for the seller, but the more the house is shown, the closer it is to being sold!

Apr 27, 2016 08:07 PM
Andrea Swiedler

Kat, yes indeed, the more it is shown, the closer a house is to being sold!

Apr 27, 2016 09:32 PM
Chris Lima
Turtle Reef Realty - Port St Lucie, FL
Local or Global-Allow me to open doors for you.

Good Morning Andrea,

This is a great post and it's oh, so true!

Apr 27, 2016 10:10 PM
Andrea Swiedler

 Chris, sellers have to be open and receptive to allowing buyers through their homes. Without the buyer they can't sell!

Apr 30, 2016 01:32 PM
Lise Howe
Keller Williams Capital Properties - Washington, DC
Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

Great post! I am seeing the same thing here in the Maryland market - days on market are starting to creep up! 

Apr 27, 2016 10:57 PM
Andrea Swiedler

Lise, it is scary to watch that happen. Ours goes up and down, up and down. But never down low enough to make it easier to breathe.

Apr 30, 2016 01:33 PM
Rob Arnold
Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. - Altamonte Springs, FL
Metro Orlando Full Service - Investor Friendly & F

Amazing how long those days on market are.  Nearly 9 months.  In Central Florida we have been below 90 days for several years and inventory has been tight for about that long. 

Apr 27, 2016 11:02 PM
Andrea Swiedler

Rob, I don't see that happening here in CT for quite a while. I might even be retired by then! LOL. 

Apr 30, 2016 01:33 PM
Margaret Goss
@Properties - Winnetka, IL
Chicago's North Shore & Winnetka Real Estate

We are also in the midst of large inventory and a buyer's market.  Every single person that views a house is a potential buyer.  They may not be serious now, but in six months they may be and that house could still be on the market.

Apr 27, 2016 11:36 PM
Andrea Swiedler

Margaret, you are a wise woman. Yes, many homes are still on the market in 6 months and it very well could be a buyer who saw it a long time ago!

Apr 30, 2016 01:34 PM
Nicole Doty - Gilbert Real Estate Expert
Zion Realty - Gilbert, AZ
Broker/Owner of Zion Realty ZionRealtyAZ.com

Those stats really do show a buyers market. Our absorption rate here is around three months and our days on market is around 75. It's not a buyers or sellers market but it's steady. 

Apr 28, 2016 01:00 AM
Andrea Swiedler

Nicole, I would be happy with that!

Apr 30, 2016 01:35 PM
John Mosier
Realty ONE Group Mountain Desert - Prescott, AZ
Prescott's Patriot Agent 928 533-8142

Great article Andrea Swiedler and quite well-written.  

If the home is priced too high, the Sellers can expect to kiss a lot more frogs.  

I had a listing a few years ago that had enormous high-voltage power lines crossing the lot. I showed it over 100 times before it finally sold. This listing also required me to be at each showing.

Apr 28, 2016 03:57 AM
Andrea Swiedler

John, thank you! I really had to laugh and I apologize. What on earth are they thinking when they insist we have to be there for every showing. I cringe. 

Apr 30, 2016 01:36 PM
Kathleen Daniels, Probate & Trust Specialist
KD Realty - 408.972.1822 - San Jose, CA
Probate Real Estate Services

With those numbers, yes, pucker up baby and keep kissing.  Send that inventory our way. We will have it sold in a day!

Apr 28, 2016 05:27 AM
Andrea Swiedler

LOL Kathleen! A day? Wow.... I'm packing up all my listings, get ready!

Apr 30, 2016 01:37 PM
Jeanne Gregory
RE/MAX Southwest - Sugar Land, TX
The most important home I sell is YOURS!

Wow!  That's high DOM.  It's still a seller's market in Houston, but evening out quite a bit from 2014.

Apr 28, 2016 05:48 AM
Andrea Swiedler

Jeanne, it is high, yes. It is interesting to see how different it really is throughout the country. 

Apr 30, 2016 01:38 PM
Tammie White, Broker
Franklin Homes Realty LLC - Franklin, TN
Franklin TN Homes for Sale

I'm with you sellers are going to be kissing a lot of frogs with 20 months of inventory. 

Apr 28, 2016 01:49 PM
Andrea Swiedler

Tammie, that number was from the middle of the month, it did drop down to a YEAR. Pucker up!

Apr 30, 2016 01:38 PM
Gary L. Waters Broker Associate, Bucci Realty
Bucci Realty, Inc. - Melbourne, FL
Eighteen Years Experience in Brevard County

Wow! With our inventory 90 days, median days on market about 30 days I can't imagine the frog wait!

Apr 29, 2016 01:26 AM
Andrea Swiedler

Gary, 30 day median? Oh my.... it's a dream to me. 

Apr 30, 2016 01:39 PM
Shirley Coomer
Keller Williams Realty Sonoran Living - Phoenix, AZ
Realtor, Keller Williams Realty, Phoenix Az

Most agents are now going to waste their time with buyer who isn't serious.  I agree, show the house as much as you can.  You never know what feature may sway a buyer once they see the house.  If you are on the market, be in the market.  With that many months of inventory I can't imagine they are getting daily showings!

Apr 29, 2016 02:32 AM
Andrea Swiedler

Shirley, you are so right. Sometimes you just can't convince them though. 

Apr 30, 2016 01:39 PM
Olga Simoncelli
Veritas Prime, LLC dba Veritas Prime Real Estate - New Fairfield, CT
CONSULTANT, Real Estate Services & Risk Management

Andrea, itn't it amazing to hear so many agents lament about multiple bids and low inventory? Our market is not anywhere near that, is it? My concern is we'll go into the next national downturn without coming out of the last one.

Apr 29, 2016 02:39 AM
Andrea Swiedler

Olga, it can be frustrating indeed, and like you I don't know if we will get out of it anytime soon. 

Apr 30, 2016 01:40 PM
Carla Muss-Jacobs, RETIRED
RETIRED / State License is Inactive - Portland, OR

One way they can help to screen out some of the tire kickers is to have "pre-approved buyers only" in the agent remark section.  Other than that, you're in a strong buyer's market and I wish we were!  We have 1.3 months of inventory (overall in the Portland Metro, some areas are more, some even less!)  Bidding wars and over-asking are normal now and listing agents are really beating buyers up.  It's awful.  

Apr 29, 2016 03:42 AM
Andrea Swiedler

Carla, I doubt that would help. And I don't know one agent who is out with tire kickers. They are out with buyers that don't make up their minds easily!

Apr 30, 2016 01:41 PM
Carla Freund
Keller Williams Preferred Realty - Raleigh, NC
NC Real Estate Transition & Relocation 919-602-848

Homes under $300k - $400k in our area are selling in a couple days. It is raining frogs and princes here. The first day or two of showings have tons of people coming through. You can tell when the buyers and/or agent isn't from the area. They'll give negative feedback (overpriced, needs to be painted, etc.). Then the home will sell for over list price with 4 - 8 offers on the table. The frogs just hop along and the prince gets serious!

Apr 29, 2016 01:49 PM
Andrea Swiedler

Carla, you are blessed, from my perspective anyway!

Apr 30, 2016 01:42 PM
Praful Thakkar
LAER Realty Partners - Andover, MA
Andover, MA: Andover Luxury Homes For Sale

Andrea Swiedler - wow! 20 months is the absorption rate. This indeed is not I'd call a seller's market.

And irrespective of type of market we are in, it's always a good idea to 'kiss as many frogs' as one can...(like that analogy.)

Apr 29, 2016 03:05 PM
Andrea Swiedler

Praful, it did go down to 12 months, which is still horrible. And thank you!

Apr 30, 2016 01:42 PM
Roger D. Mucci
Shaken...with a Twist 216.633.2092 - Euclid, OH
Lets shake things up at your home today!

Dean, Dean, pucker up indeed with those kind of statistics.....pretty amazing.

Apr 29, 2016 08:18 PM
Andrea Swiedler

Roger, Roger, you better believe it, with lipstick on too!

Apr 30, 2016 01:43 PM
DALIA KIBBY
One Sothebys International Realty - Cooper City, FL
Selling Florida Homes with Passion!

In Broward county (Southeast) Florida, it's a seller's market although it has slowed a bit in the past 12 months. Sellers who price right will sell very quicky (usually two weeks).

Still, many sellers don't understand the importance of pricing right. In the quarter ended 3/31/16, the percentage of expired, cancelled and withdrawn listings was at 42% for single family home listings and 47% for condos/townhome listings, nearly half of listings aren't sold. 

Apr 30, 2016 01:41 AM
Andrea Swiedler

Dalia, you just gave me a great idea to pound people into listing at a resonable price. I never pull the stats on expireds, don't know why I never did it. Thanks! 

Apr 30, 2016 01:44 PM
Hannah Williams
HomeStarr Realty - Philadelphia, PA
Expertise NE Philadelphia & Bucks 215-820-3376

Truly adorable Andrea Swiedler  It kept my attention  ..Where have you been my dear .You have been missed

Apr 30, 2016 09:47 AM
Andrea Swiedler

Hi Hannah, thank you! It's been a rough few years, family deaths and illnesses. But I am still working! Just rather lost my words for a bit. 

Apr 30, 2016 01:45 PM
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@Properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Hi, Andrea!  I included this post in today's Last Week's Favorites!

May 01, 2016 04:15 AM