Question: Our Leawood house has been listed for over a year with no showings other than the ones we show ourselves at open houses we hold! Our Realtor has offered no guidance on what we can do to prepare our home and buyers at our open houses say the home is spotless and looks great. Other homes in the area are selling within 90 days and our home is now priced below them. Our current REALTOR is our second REALTOR, both are from large are brokerages. It does not seem both REALTORS did much to market our home. Both relied on their companies name and offered no samples of marketing when requested. What else can we do? We are located close to schools in a wonderful subdivision and have great parks nearby. The house is two years old, has granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, a large custom deck, and a spacious finished basement with a media room. Our yard is professionally landscaped and the backyard is fenced. We hold open houses at least three weeks a month. What should we do now?
Kenneth R. from Leawood, Kansas
Answer: Thanks for your question, Kenneth. I tried to look up your home on the MLS to offer some advice but I was not able to find your home, so I will be kind of generic on my advice.
First, you are experiencing what we call in the real estate community as "Worn". When a nice home is on the market for a long period of time and it doesn't sell, home buyers think that their is something wrong with the home. Although pricing is the number 1 reason for homes to not sell, home buyers figure that homes that have been on the market for a long period of time is probably because there is a structural, cosmetic or mechanical issue.
Typically, homes that are listed to high will eventually sell, but at a much lower priced than if they were listed at the correct price at the beginning.
I would suggest having a Salablity Checklist preformed on your home; as well as, an updated pricing analysis. We do this on all pf our listings. The 500 websites we choose to market our listings will not be effective if we have listed the home at the wrong price and have staged the home incorrectly.
Here is a copy of our Salability Checklist. This is why our listings sell for Top Dollar in 30 days.
Saleability
Checklist
Perils
Of Overpricing
When
selling a home, the price you set is a critical factor in the return
you'll receive. The correct price is determined by the size,
condition and location of your home, what comparable homes are
selling for at the time you list your home, and the balance of supply
and demand in your area.
Overpricing
your home is one of the biggest mistakes you could make. If you know
what your home is truly worth, you should set your price no more than
5% higher. That gives you plenty of room for negotiation.
There
are several reasons why overpricing won't work to your advantage,
namely:
-
Limits Buyers
Prospective
buyers that you want to attract won't see your house because they are
only looking at homes within their price range. Other buyers who may
see your house realize that they can get more for their money
elsewhere.
-
Limits Showings
Other
real estate agents may be reluctant to show your property if it is
overpriced.
-
Sells The Competition
Agents
may use this home to sell against other homes that are more
attractively priced. If your home is the highest priced in the area,
it may sit unsold until all the similar homes have sold. Because new
homes keep coming on the market, this could continue until you reduce
your price.
-
Lose The '30-Day' Advantage
A
home sells best the first 30 days after it goes on the market. There
is typically a backlog of buyers waiting to look at homes as they
first come on the market. If your home is initially overpriced,
you'll lose these buyers and the 30-day advantage.
-
Listing Gets Stale
When
a home is on the market beyond the average selling time, buyers may
think that there's something wrong with the property.
-
Difficult To Finance
Even
if a buyer is willing to pay the high price, an appraisal at that
price may be difficult to get and lenders may not be able to provide
a loan.
-
Lower Price
To
eventually sell the home, you may have to reduce the price,
sometimes, several times. In the end you lose twice, a lower sales
price and a slower sale.
If
25 of the 33 criteria are checked it is almost certain that your
property will sell.
Priced below the RealEstate.com
estimated home value [ ] Yes [ ] No
Priced below the Zillow
Estimate [ ] Yes [ ] No
Priced below the Yahoo Real Estate
Estimate [ ] Yes [ ] No
Priced below within the RPR
estimate [ ] Yes [ ] No
Priced below the average square
foot pricing [ ] Yes [ ] No
Priced below average for
area [ ] Yes [ ] No
Priced below county tax
appraisal [ ] Yes [ ] No
Condition of home is above average
excluding distressed homes [ ] Yes [ ] No
Owner financing is
available [ ] Yes [ ] No
Special financing
available [ ] Yes [ ] No
Seller to pay buyer normal buyers
closing cost [ ] Yes [ ] No
Postdated price
reduction [ ] Yes [ ] No
Even sales price [ ] Yes
[ ] No
Above average DOM listing
agreement [ ] Yes [ ] No
Above market commission [
] Yes [ ] No
Easy access to property- Go and
Show [ ] Yes [ ] No
Yard sign in front of
home [ ] Yes [ ] No
Immediate possession
available [ ] Yes [ ] No
Matching stainless steel
appliances [ ] Yes [ ] No
Refrigerator included [ ]
Yes [ ] No
Home has granite counter
tops [ ] Yes [ ] No
Home features a 2 story
entry [ ] Yes [ ] No
Home sits on a desirable
cul-de-sac lot or similar lot [ ] Yes [ ] No
Home has a finished
basement [ ] Yes [ ] No
Home has a walkout
basement [ ] Yes [ ] No
Home has neutral matching décor
[ ] Yes [ ] No
Home has great curb
appeal [ ] Yes [ ] No
Seller has pre-ordered an
appraisal [ ] Yes [ ] No
Seller has pre-ordered an
inspection [ ] Yes [ ] No
Seller is offering a Home
Protection Plan [ ] Yes [ ] No
No required contingencies are
involved [ ] Yes [ ] No
Seller will complete obvious
repairs [ ] Yes [ ] No
Seller has signed the Saleability
Checklist [ ] Yes [ ] No
We just listed a ranch home in Olathe, Kansas that had been on the market for over a year with several real estate agents. After doing the Salability Checklist and sharing with the seller, we got an accepted contract within 30 days.
RE/MAX sells more homes than any other real estate company.
For a reason...should we talk?
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