Hypothetical: If you were selling your house today...

My home is in Oklahoma, but maybe I can still contribute. I'm concerned whether we would get a good price for our home. Five houses on our block have sold in the last year and three of them had to lower their asking price. Then again, we have some bad neighbors around the corner, as most places in Oklahoma do! Does that have anything to do with it? hehe.

We have doen a lot of updating to our home, though...and I know for a fact that 2 of the houses that sold were fairly outdated.

Did that help at all??

Jennifer,

I can offer a few key words with regards to today's market.

Motivation-Ask yourself how motivated you are, do you have to move now, or do you just want to move? People who have to move immediatley are more motivated than those who just want to put their home on the market and see if it sells.

Price-It still comes down to pricing. Motivated sellers put their home up at a price close to or equal to market value, unrealistic sellers put it above the market price.

Price 2-You may feel that you will get less for your house in the current market, but you will also be able to buy more house in a down or Buyer's market. This is the huge bonus to being in the current market. Your gains will offset any potential money left on the table.

As a RE professional I could go on and on but I will spare you, but I do have one other comment. If you put your home up prior to the spring bump, most of the Buyers in the market at this time are serious, and although the showing activity may be slow, the quality is high.

Hope this helps.

You want the truth? You want the TRUTH?? You can't HANDLE the...

OK Fine. You get the point. The truth is the market sucks (pardon the term). Nothing is moving. I put my house on the market almost three months ago at a really good price for the area (10k below appraisal).

At the time I was getting several hits on MLS a day and I was going through flyers like no-ones business, getting a couple people a week through the house. But because of the market, all the people that were looking don't qualify anymore.

The fed's dropped the rates to encourage sales, but the lenders have made it even harder to qualify so they cancel each other out. Now I get hits on MLS only when I drop the price (now 30k below appraisal). But still no one is looking.

The market seems to be worse for those of us trying to sell pre-occupied homes. Developers are dropping their prices down to almost nothing because they can't afford to sit on what they have. People that ARE looking are cashing in on that; and those us selling our current homes take a back seat.

I have a beautiful home I helped design, waiting for me to move in. But I am stuck in my current house probably until next year because of the market. And I risk losing the house I want because of it.

That is how I fell about the market.

SOMEBODY BUY MY HOUSE!!!

Have a house that's been on the market for two years. Price now is at HALF what it was originally listed at (first price was upon baadddd advice from a RE agent who has since been fired--for an asst. of problems).

So pressing questions include: do we spend more money to add appeal to the house--with no hope of recouping the money spent but viewing the cost merely as another cost of sale ...

Pricing your home can be tough. Did you rely upon what your Realtor told you or have they shown you an effective pricing strategy so that you can make your best informed decision? Leila I suggest you consult with a Realtor regarding the market value of your home and offer some financing assistance to buyers. Consider covering closing costs, a home warranty for their first year, or offering discount points towards their loan. These are often attractive incentives to home buyers.

Scott, I suggest you use your Circle of Influence. It's never a bad idea to tell your friends and family, doctor, and co-workers that your are selling your home. Up sell! Don't talk about the headaches, tell them about why you loved your house and the wonderful things you've done to it, or find yourself a Realtor who can do that for you.

Also, 80% of home buyers are researching on the web before they ever call a Realtor to look at homes. Does your Realtor offer virtual tours and web promotion? How much exposure is your home getting on the national market? With so many people (up to 40,000 annually) moving to Seattle homes need national and international marketing.

I hope this helps.

Anyone who bought a newly built home in a newer area in the last few years probably has it the worst. Not only do you have to compete with others selling houses, but you have to compete with really motivated developers of your area who really need to move houses.

I have friends who bought in "Phase 1" of their development thinking they were getting an extra good deal. I thought it was a bad idea as the same developments were being built everywhere (but I'd been wrong before...). Now the developers are just getting to "Phase 3" (which they said would be completed years ago...), and they're discounting them so much that anyone who's bought in the past few years would have to take a major loss to get out.

My concerns, being in an older house, are how many of my neighbors will be trying to sell next spring? What will I have to do to compete if we decide to sell and move?

Fortunately, we've done lots of upgrades, and done them ourselves. So at least instead of borrowing money, or spending savings on upgrades we just spent the last four years of our lives working on the house. Even if we sold at a sizable loss, we'd still come out not owing anything...I hope.

Our problem here in the Midwest is different than your problems way over there on the West Coast. Your prices got way too high. Our prices are pretty good, it's the economy that's hurting us.

Some terrific points have been made and great advice offered to the frustrated sellers here. There are a couple of issues that I believe need some additional attention.

Perception. Seattle's market doesn't necessarily suck, it is normalizing. The past few years of rapid sales and intensity have been the anomaly, when you examine the marketplace from an historic point of view. 30-60 day market times are the norm (and more). Why do you think the custom of a 90 day listing developed in the first place?If its substantially more than that, there is something very wrong going on, that needs to be evaluated with brutal honesty.

Pricing. Be very, very careful, but don't think you need to give it away because it hasn't sold in 2 weeks.Price it right at the beginning! You need an agent you can trust and believe her/him! Things will be slow until January. Relax, take a bunch of deep breaths and truly accept that. Lots of folks take their homes off the market through the holidays. Its not a bad idea if you're going to stress out because no one is viewing/showing. A Seattle listing I put on the market in October, sold with multiple offers, over list price, in 2 weeks. It was even priced a touch high, but carefully and frugally upgraded with just those things that made it shine.

Unless the economic conditions in the country truly go into the toilet and bring Seattle with it (which is certainly a possibility), the local economy is quite robust. Builders are eliminating their inventory and are providing stiff competition, but new construction is generally higher priced per sq. ft. than comparable resales anyway. If the move in buyers need to sell homes in other parts of the country, we've got a problem. If they can rent them out and buy here; yippee!

I'd like to echo the advice re selling a bit low and buying advantageously in this market. These days, public perception is generally negative, but as usual, may be ill-informed. If you're a buyer, this may well be the best opportunity thats become available in years. If you're a seller, get real. Get good advice. Examine your options realistically. Accept contingent offers (but first carefully check out the potential buyer's home.)Buy contingent on the sale of your home. Seattle sellers are just going to have to readjust to those terms.

Its not so bad out there, really!

Ok, So I am also a RE pro, so my opinion may be biased. However, I spent the last 2-3 days with a couple of relocation buyers in my car, and I was amazed at what I saw. First of all if you are going to charge a half a million for a home it better either be huge or updated. All too often prices are set by the technical details of a home and not the real attributes. ok so the home is 3000sqft, if you want 500k+ for it paint it! Stage it! It amazes me to look at the property history of a home and see that they have dropped the price by upwards of 100k and it needs interior paint and the power turned back on. Ok so you might be saving a little money on the utilities bill and on the paint, but you had to drop the price 100k, which is more?

The market is different now, you have to compete to sell. Not just in price but in appearance too. I see too many realtors with listings that only showcase 3-4 pictures. What does everybody think when they only see 3-4 pictures. "What are they hiding?"

Ok so I just realized that I went into a little rant. Oh, well Sellers and Buyers deserve the truth and all too often they are just getting a sales pitch. If you are planning on buying or selling a home in this market demand the RAW truth from your agent. Not just another fluffy sales pitch about how important it is that you buy right now!

I'm a little late in answering, but yes, Jennifer...that's exactly what I was asking! Thank you!

Bri

I would be fairly uncertain about pricing my home so low that I couldn't negotiate. You have to give yourself some wiggle room to come down in price if you feel the offer is fair and balanced. A good contract leaves both parties feeling like it's win-win.

But I would also be nervous about overpricing my home because of what I've invested and sentimental value. You're home is your castle, how do you put a price tag on that?

Finally, how long can I comfortably keep my house on the market. The time listed is averaging 90+ days, can I survive that long with 2 mortgages or a rent and a mortgage?

As an agent I actually feel very good about the houses in my area. Because my specialty is south of the city I'm seeing many good homes priced market ready. I am a little uneasy about the normalization but I did not get into this career to get rich quick. I launched my career because this is what I like to do; help people make good investments in their future.

If you're still looking for more? My main concern would be the resent development of homes similat to mine in the area that haven't sold. I could sell at the same price and make money but would any one want to buy my house with new ones on the market right next door? If I had to move right now I would try to rent out my current house instead of sell it. That was party of my theory when I purchased. Art T.

Just a quick comment about new vs. used. I always remind clients of the hidden cost in a new home, window treatments & blinds, additional landscaping, since most builders put in very little, and other small interior items that most homeowners add and leave behind. All these items really add up and can make the difference between buying new or pre-owned.

I know I've gotten a little off topic, but overall this is a very interesting time (and a very painful time for some) in the real estate market.

On the topic of "new vs. used" I feel that there is often a misconception. I'm a photographer, and in the past, was hired frequently to photograph new developments, etc. for marketing purposes. The marketing people I dealt with always said it was best to buy new for investment purposes. To me this never made sense, since as soon as you lived in it, it was "used."

Secondly, everyone I know who has bought new, has more problems than I've had with our 45 year old house. We have now cracked drywall, popped nails, pealing drywall tape, leaky windows, etc. Sure or house has had it's share of problems, but what some don't understand is that with a house there's always work to be done whether new or old. I have relatives that have had to replace their roof, siding, and several custom windows with in the first 8 years of buying a new house.

In the past almost any house placed on the market sold fairly quickly. Just recently, my wife (a designer) and I were hired to do photography. a web site, and a large gate fold brochure for a couple trying to sell a multi-million dollar house. This is maybe a new direction we'll be heading in the future. I know it's a tough sell because everyone is used to an easy sell, but if the market stays slow long enough, it may become necessary. Also I know agents don't want to foot the bill since they may not stay on as the agent until the house sells. It becomes something that must be sold to the house owner(s).

As a real estate broker and branch owner, I tell my agents and my clients to stop reading the newspapers or watching the news. It's frankly a load of crap. The market has NORMALIZED (and thank God... we could NOT sustain the out of control appreciation we had the last 5 years). Agents have to EARN their commissions again (WHAT? You mean I have to WORK for my average of $7500 per deal?)

One thing that my company offers (through our mortgage division) is up to 6 months of no house payments for the new buyer (Seller concession, true, but it beats dropping your price 100k and in some cases, seller credits are tax deductible - ask your CPA). Since we've rolled out this program, our buyer calls have increased by 130% and our closed listings have increased by 45% (that's just OUR listing inventory, not including what we sold of other broker's listings).

If I were to sell one of my homes right now (which I wouldn't... my rents are going up and I love it!) I would be most concerned about what my agent's marketing plan is. I don't approach a homeowner without at least a 6 week marketing plan (it consists of 101 action items). A home will sell itself, but it needs the appropriate marketing and care (yes, that means staging).

Since you are a stager and you're curious what a homeowner's concerns are, I'll try to specifically address your questions from the comments we've heard from clients...

1) why should I stage, my house looks fine as it is... - well, of course it looks fine to you, seller, because you live in it and decorated it yourself. Note - decorated and not merchandised or staged. Decorating is to meet a specific taste of style - staging and/or merchandising is to appeal to a broad audience.

2) Why should I paint when the paint on the wall/exterior is in perfectly good condition? - yes, it might be excellent teal colored paint, and that is part of the problem. It's teal and not a universally accepted color. Unacceptable colors result in lower or no offers. Buyers will see the work they'll need to put in and price accordingly. Very few people want a cosmetic fixer anymore. They want value for their money and that either means move-in ready (no painting/carpet/otherwise) at a good price or a great deal on the one that does need cosmetic work. Since the majority of buyers don't do this kind of work regularly they don't know the actual costs, so, in their heads they will make the figures much larger.

3) My house is in better condition than anyone else's house in the neighborhood and we've had many people in the past walk up and tell us they'd like to buy the home. - I'm sure you did and that was also during the years that houses sold quickly. And, as the owner, you're not always sufficiently removed emotionally from your house to see the flaws. Believe me, ALL houses have flaws. Staging helps to offset some of them - repairing or replacing other issues deals with others. Some problems you just can't do anything about.

4) As a seller, I'm afraid we won't be able to sell and we've already made the move to a new town for the new job our largest income earner accepted. - Time to really consider what you'll sell your home for. Motivation is a big factor and value of a home is never a fixed dollar amount. You might feel that you don't want to give anything up on the value of your home, but value is only determined when you actually sell it. Just because a house is listed at one price doesn't mean it's worth it - as many people are now finding out.

Price it right to begin with. Plenty of studies have shown that pricing a house in the mid-range of values, while making sure it is in very good condition to sell, is what moves properties. Overpricing or putting an inferior product on the market will only bite you in the backside.