Andi Grant's Blog - Everyday Real Estate with a Twist

Are You in the Driver's Seat, or Are You the Crash Test Dummy?

I know there are some home sellers that have had it up to here with their listing agents suggesting, nudging, hinting at them to drop their listing price when their home is such a great home! Some have even begun to resent the visits or phone calls from their agent after several months of no activity.  In some cases, I don't blame you!  But in others...well...hear me out.

Most home sellers, with the help of a great and informed Realtor, will take the driver's seat in this market by presenting and pricing their home in a way that will draw many buyers to it.  These same saavy buyers when presented with a great home priced competitively, will oftentimes find themselves competing against one another in a multiple offer situation, thus submitting their highest and best offer (usually over asking price), while also attempting to make themselves more attractive to sellers by asking for fewer seller concessions (adding to the seller's bottom line).  In many cases, the buyers are then placed at the mercy of the home seller.  In control is the position every home seller and their agent wants to be in!

But there are some occasions when a seller will disregard "road conditions" (recently sold and pending comps for similar homes in the area detailed to them by a Realtor) by insisting on over-pricing and marking up their home, only to find themselves months later, spiraling downhill, out-of-control, finally hitting that brick wall as their "days on market" numbers climb higher and higher.  These same type of listings usually become the examples used by local agents to potential home sellers of what costly mistake not to make when pricing their home.  Also, have you noticed that the longer the days on market, the more number of "Seller to pay for..." boxes are checked in the offer packages that are finally submitted, if any?  Where is the control in that?  The seller is now at the mercy of a soon-to-be demanding  buyer. 

Home seller, there are many twists and turns on the road to home selling; please allow an experienced Realtor professional to help you navigate it with correct home pricing, presentation and sharp mid-escrow negotiations, in order to get you to the finish line ahead of the competition with fewer road blocks.  The final desired outcome is you crossing the "SOLD" finish line and collecting the highest monetary reward.  

If you are looking for someone to take the wheel or to help you navigate the sometimes treacherous roads of the home selling or buying process, do not hesitate to call Andi Grant at 310-508-4354.  We'll discuss where you are at, where you want to go and the fastest and less costly way of getting you there. 

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Race Car Driver, Crash Test Dummies and Finish Line Photos courtesy of Creative Commons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

Today I read two very good articles about overpriced listings. One was titled "Those Two in the Bush May Never be Yours Mr. Seller... Take the One in Your Hand!" written by Sheldon Neal and the other "How and Overpriced Listing Affects Buyers" written by Carla Muss-Jacobs and I couldn't help but think of one of the very first blogs I posted regarding over-priced listings. 

You will either price your home to sell or price it to sit. 

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Seller!  Is Your Home Dressed Up with Nowhere to Go?

Your home is at the MLS prom, its "dressed" beautifully, yet still no offers to "dance."  Why?

Staging is a wonderful thing, believe me, it is one of the most underrated resources a Realtor and Seller can have in their marketing arsenals.  But no matter how lovely a home is staged, the number one draw to get the offers in is the home price!  Your home price says whether or not you are approachable, an active participant in the festivities and ready to partner with someone (i.e. buyer).

A stubborn seller who thinks their home is the belle of the ball and refuses to come down in price in order to compete, is equivalent to the stuck-up beauty queen, who watches from the lonely sidelines, as the Plainer Janes (homes priced at or near the "pending" comps) obtain multiple offers to "dance."   

Posted below is a great letter to home sellers authored by my friend and colleague Sheldon Neal.   His letter reminded me of one particular listing I had a few years ago in which I listed the home for $15,000 less than what their previous listing agent listed it for.  My home sellers and I got an offer within a few days and sure enough, although thrilled, they questioned whether or not I had underpriced it.  Huh?  They still questioned it after their home had sat with the previous agent for three months? 

It moved because it was priced right.  Needless to say, we closed within 3 weeks.  Shortly thereafter homes dropped by $30K within 4 months.  My sellers who have since purchased another beautiful home through me, still smile and breathe a sigh of relief that they accepted the offer and sold in time, instead of being placed in the spin cycle of a down market.

There are a lot of factors in this market that are out of control of the home seller.  Accepting a reasonable offer is not one of them.   

If you are thinking about selling your home in the near future, or if you are simply interested in finding out how much your home is worth in today's market, we can perform a thorough a Comparative Market Analysis of your home today.  Call 310-508-4354 or answer a few simple questions here.

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