I think most homes are on the market at least 30 days before they get their first offer unless you price it right on the very first day. My opinion is that if you don't get at least one offer in the first week it is just too high for this market. You will need to decide if you can wait for a decent offer to come in for another month, or would you like to price it right now and get multiple offers? The goal is to get at least one qualified buyer at a good price...now.
Most buyers are looking for the best deal possible and will aim for some kind of distress sale or foreclosure. About half of the buyers I work with don't understand the "short sale" process. It usually takes 2 to 4 weeks before the bank gets started on it! The seller can accept the offer, but the bank is the one who REALLY can accept and approve the offer. Hopefully your buyer will understand the process and not get their hopes up to get an approval before 2 weeks. If earlier, then that is a great reason to rejoice!
If it is not a short sale, and the seller has some equity to cover the sale and its costs, I believe there are a small handful of reasons that it would not selling in the first week. The first being the PRICE. Just too high. The second being the LOCATION. Are you next to a busy street, electrical wires, freeways, steep slopes, water storage receptacles, other home windows, toll roads, etc.? Your home could be awesome, but the location could be a slight problem. The third reason being the presentation. Have you cleaned it, cleaned the carpet, and taken out extra things like toys, too much furniture, etc.? Have you made the beds, put away or hung wet towels? Have you done the dishes? Put away all those pictures on the fridge? Speaking of...put away the family pictures. Stick with the florals, contemporaries, landscapes, animals etc. Most people will want to disconnect from your family and connect with their own. They will be distracted by the pictures. "Are they divorcing? Why are they moving? That is so sad. Is this who lives here? Does the wife/husband still live here?" I could go on and on. Just know that that this is a great hindrance. Also, put away the religious symbols. They can be a deciding issue with the buyers. If they do not believe in the statue of so and so in the living room or pictures of so and so in the china cabinet, they will get a feeling of resistance through the whole home even though it could be the perfect home. Put away the books. They will get a sense of what you filled your home with by your books. Keep them of your city or something light. Do you have a cat or dog, or any other animal? Take extra care in clearing the oders out before you show. Put the dogs out back, clean up the mess. Cat litter boxes, clean out frequently. Some buyers can't set foot in a home that has had cats. Is your home outdated? Will the buyers need to do too many improvements to get it up to date? Ask for your professional Realtor's opinion on this matter. Do you have a lockbox out for Realtors? Will you let them in at the last moment? Do you step out when Realtors come with their clients? If not, it will be rare that they will connect with your property. Most sellers who stay and explain the details of their home can say a little too much! The buyers don't feel comfortable with that.
There are more reasons that I'm sure I haven't included, but these are the most frequent that I have found. Ask your real estate professional their honest opinion about these issues. They will be able to guide you in your price setting decision. From re-reading this post from a year or so back, I thought it to be a good idea to re-post. Let me know your thoughts on this.
Roberta Counts
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