Why I'm RAISING the price significantly on a house that hasn't sold for 445 days

It's always great to see that there really is a difference between realtors that view their job/ role as a profession/ service and those that, well, don't. Great points!

What a sharp realtor you are!  You realized that some staging was needed and you did it yourself. I am wondering what would have happend 445 days ago if the former realtor would have suggested to the owners to use a Home Stager. Staging the property would really make their home stand out amid the competition. Good luck on the listing. Patty Koutcher, HomeStagingMagicLLC. Boynton Beach,FL

Daniel..thank you for the rational thought. Those who do not realize that REO's and short sales are INDEED comparables obviously have not been submitting deals to underwiters for loans.

I thank you for the willingness for the math...but that math shows that you may have quite a tough road ahead of you. Pricing a home to sell is critical right now and to do otherwise is tantamount to failure.

Using your numbers above...you have comparable home son the market that HAVE not sold at lower prices..and you have comparables..valid comparables that further devalue your listing and to make matters worse we here in Florida are in a declining market.

I will be AMAZED if this house CLOSES (not goes under contract) but CLOSES above. Here's another question..of those houses you mentioned..what are the days on market for each of those listings...you see with no comparables and a declining market and the only comparables being that which you decide to discount...you are looking at a property that may be hard pressed to close at even $250,000..notice I said CLOSE.

I think realtors really need to look beyond the contract and get tough and hardnosed about the numbers. Instead of advising homeowners to do repairs how about asking for an appraiser to come out and give a REALISTIC valuation as to what the property is worth today as a bank would look at it and then price it 10-15% BELOW that to seriously try and move the home. Everything else is just tossing a coin into the fountain.

Andy..glad I could be inspirational. Love to have spirited discourse. I look forward to your article.

Andy, the point is...I don't care about the "market"..my Selelr did not hire me to worry about the "market". My Seller hired me to sell their home. People we work with never have a listing on the market for more than 7 days becasue the home is priced to SELL. Not to please the "market"!

I say your foundation is wrong..why? Becasue I am basing what I say on the immutable laws of supply and demand.

No where in my post...will you see that I said ACCEPT the offer at 10-15% below market value as a hardline determinant. I said LIST the property at that price.

Very..very..big difference that almost all realtors miss. In an inventory laden market you must CREATE demand.

By listing the property aggressively you create a buzz and like a REO property you will seek to accept the highest and best offer in what should be an immediate multiple offer situation.

If you don't get multiple offers then you know you have a dog. When you do, you actually create a buzz and will be able to raise the price until the DEMAND dictates the sale price.

We recently had a client who had the same scenario as what you write. Almost exactly the same.

We told him to lower his price and watch the phone go crazy. He listed the property at $300k. Everyone and their mother freaked...we told him to stay calm..and follow procedure. In under 4 days He had 10 offers on a home that had sat unsold for over 14 months. 2 were from neighbors or neighbor's relatives!

He responded to each and told them that he had multiple offers and that he needed to receive their buyer's highest and best offer by noon on friday. He ended up getting a contract for $330,000.

Which is only a short $ away from what the "perceived " market value was to beging with.

The laws of supply and demand will always prevail..hence your argument as to the creation and perpetuation of the declining market is incorrect.

You simply assumed that when I said "list" the price at 10-15% below MV that I said ACCEPT that contract..which is not what I said at all. You may indeed have to accept said contract as if there are no multiple offers you have realized the true value...but it is not a mandate.

Hey..in the end, it's all about marekting. But rather than spending the time sprucing up the joint, market for what matters most in this inventory laden housing market.

Andy if I could respond to Jeff and Lisa..not looking to hijack your post here.

@ Jeff and Lisa...ABSOLUTELY! Buyers are out there..they want a deal and one of the best marketing tactics is the takeaway. Create the deman, create the buzz and the buyers more often than not will respond accordingly. Works in just about EVERY business. Hmmm...why is it the same products that were on sale before Black Friday create a fenzy and demand on that day? BUZZ!! Marketing.. demand creates action!

Good Job!  Glad to see this happening again. When my brother in law was the broker and a property that didn't sell he always said raise the price, no one wants to buy the lowest priced home/land on the market. If the property didn't sell in 30 days  or less he'd say raise it again until it's sold. The buyer thinks something is wrong with the property if it is so under priced". You can clearly see Realtors who just want listings and under cut the true value of homes/land in todays market.   If he was alive today he'd have the office jumping in excitment in sales. He died in a car accident at 44 years old and left everyone with his love of Real Estate knowledge and  those who knew him now  own and follow what he taught.