I’m considering reducing the price of my home that has been on the market for 3 weeks with more or less no response from the market (not one prospect has asked to see the house, other than at open houses). My agent blames the Labor Day weekend and back-to-school preparations as having keeping away prospects. Anyway, I’m not so sure, and want to ask for your opinion on how I should reduce the selling price. Should I announce, “Price Reduced!,” on MLS and place a little sign above the for sale sign in my frontyard as many sellers do? I am concerned that this approach may give the impression that (if I’m reducing the price of the house after only 3 weeks) there is something wrong with my house, or that I am desperate and may even reduce the price further, and keep prospects away.
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How To Reduce The Price Of Home Already On Market?
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You are loved 12:09 pm on February 10, 2010 Permalink
It can be a selling point if you announce the price has been reduced, it can also turn people off and make them wonder why you reduced it, (they may wonder if something is wrong with the home, etc.)
It is rather soon for you to do this, I sold my previous home as a for sale by owner and was on the market for over a month and a half, so I had to hire an agent and it still took approximately 2 months to sell or get an offer, the agent thought we were too high, so I reduced it at that time by 20K and got an offer, and the home was located in a suburb in Los Angeles, in an excellent location with no inventory of homes,
The question is, are you desperate to sell it, if that’s the case then go ahead and reduce the price, and you never know, it’s a 50/50 chance, while some prospect buyers may be turned away, some other new ones may be excited and put an offer, your agent is partially correct, summer is usually the busiest times for home sales, after that things begin to slow down, as people are doing other things and most have made their decisions and purchases. It’s a fact.
Good luck!
Robin A. 6:22 pm on February 10, 2010 Permalink
You could advertise it as ‘price reduced’. Most people realize that this is a soft market and that sellers need to drop prices to sell. However, instead of dropping your price, you may do better with offering incentives. For example, offer $10K towards closing or a free vacation to the buyer.
stephanie s 6:26 pm on February 10, 2010 Permalink
We placed our home for sale on August 15th and we had a contract on August 17th. We priced our home to sell. So many people price there home for more than the market is going for. What you might have gotten last year your not going to get this year. The market is slow.We just put a contract on a house in Florida and we will be paying $20,000 less that the asking price. Houses down there are sitting on the market much longer so it is a buyers market.
Price your home to sell or wait until the market picks back up.
WP Autoblogging Plugin 12:48 am on February 11, 2010 Permalink
Why not try to advertise with the realitor that you (the Seller) is willing to help with closing cost. I normally inform my clients to offer the full price for a home, since they are asking for up to 6 percent of closing cost help.
This is a insert of what I tell my clients. “It greatly depends if you need help with closing cost, (The seller could do Seller Help toward your closing cost). If that is the case, I normally tell my clients NOT to hackle over the price, since you are asking for closing cost help – especially if the home is thru a realitor, and the seller has to pay the realitor their fee which runs from 3-6 percent of the selling price, and you ask for 3-5 percent toward closing cost -assistance)”
Have the realitor say “Seller is Motivated to Sell, by offering up to 6 percent of closing cost assitance” Lenders allow up to 6 percent of assistance, you may not need the full 6 percent – depends on the loan amount. If a home is selling for 60,000 the assistance would be 3,600.00 If the home is 120,000 the 6 percent is 7,200.00 The closing cost is would not be 7200.00 but it would be closer to the 3,600.00 Depends on the closing cost associated with the loan, and the Lender fee’s of who the buyer goes with.
This can be a powerful tool in selling a home. That way you do not need to lower your asking price. Some ppl may not qualify for a 100 percent financing, and may need a seller 2nd, so leave your options open just in case they (the buyer) needs more asistance in buying your home.
It has only been 3 weeks, give it more time, the housing market is still strong, but in all fairness we did have Labor Day, and students going back to school –
Good luck to you.
curmudge 1:21 am on February 11, 2010 Permalink
It is a selling point, so put the little sign up.
KL 1:33 am on February 11, 2010 Permalink
3 weeks is a really short time…you may want to consider leaving the price alone for a bit longer. Labor day weekend is a really bad time and now that schools are in session, a lot less people are looking at homes.
Speak with your real estate agent and let them know you’re flexible. They’ll want to reduce the price soon enough, anyways!
KIM A 3:41 am on February 11, 2010 Permalink
I went through this with my mom and dads house and found out that the realestate agent wasn’t doing her job, but not until we lowered the price of the house by 20,000. It made me sick. I would hold the price right now for at least another couple months. Did you sign a contract with the company? if not then find another real estate co. Or you could sell it your self, its not really that hard. If you did sign a contract the light a fire under their butts and tell them to get busy!
Karen R 10:06 am on February 11, 2010 Permalink
Your agent is correct. Labor Day weekend and gearing up for school are terrible times to sell. Almost all markets slow during August and September. In fact, the market in general has been changing all over the country over the last several months. We have been in a sellers market for some time but it has changed to a buyers market now. Fewer buyers and more listings mean most homes are going to be on the market longer than what anyone would like.
If you decide to reduce the price, it should be advertised that it is reduced. On the sign, in print advertising, on internet advertising, in the MLS, everywhere.
Price is what you pay for value. 2:30 pm on February 11, 2010 Permalink
Not sure if this would help. Usually, a housing market correction last for years. It is unlikely things will brighten up in a few months, afterall, this bubble took 5 years for form.
It might be better to give some discount so you unload the house quickly and can use the gain of the home to make money elsewhere quickly. At the same time, you will save money by not paying mortgage for the next 5 months.
For example, if mortgage is $2500/mo. and you have $300,000 gain sitting in the house, by selling it now rather than 5 months later will save you $12500. It will also earn you as much as $7000 from interests (Assuming CD are paying 5.5% or higher).
Total financial benefit for selling early would be $20,000. I would give buyer some discount just because of that.
Finally, keeping a house in selling condition is a lot of work. If your realtor does staging, it costs extra to rent furnitures. If you are living in the unit, it takes extra effort to keep it clean. So, sell it fast!http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/08/real_est…http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/05/real_est…
BrokenRo 6:41 pm on February 11, 2010 Permalink
New home sales fell 21.6% in July from the same month last year. That’s the lowest level since February, and below the consensus estimate. Inventories of new homes for sale were up 22.4% from the same time last year, to 568,000 new homes, which is about a 6.5-month supply.
And as bad as those numbers are, they are likely to get worse in coming months, according to report issued today by Wachovia economist Phillip Neuhart. Here’s why…
In his report, Neuhart notes that only 24.4% of homes in the total inventory count are actually completed, which means the vast number of inventory is comprised of homes not yet started or under construction. Already, some builders like Toll Brothers have noted that buyers are willing to walk away from deposits if they see housing values in a downward spiral (who wants to pay $650,000 for a home they contracted for six months ago, if houses in the subdivision are now going for $605,000 in the resale market?)
Neuhart also notes that builders’ sentiment, as measured by the National Association of Home Builders, fell again in August, “signaling that we have not seen the worst of it yet. Additionally, the market is probably worse than the numbers reflect because new home sales are booked at contract signing, meaning the high level of cancellations being reported by builders are not captured.” As a result, Neuhart expects the housing market to continue its decline through 2006 and into all of 2007.
crapbask 7:47 pm on February 11, 2010 Permalink
Auctions work for books, old movies, clothes, and cars but will it work for selling a house? According to this CNN/Money article titled A 5-Day Plan to Sell Your House, auctions are gaining in popularity among home sellers. The process works like this:
1. Wednesday start advertising in newspapers, signs, and media. State that the home will be awarded to the highest bidder after a two day open house.
2. Sellers set startling low selling prices. Kinda reminds me of eBay.
3. At the open house, all attendees are told to sign-in and place a written bid on the sign-in sheet.
4. After the open house has closed on day 2, the sellers conduct bidding over the phone by calling each bidder and asking them if they would like to raise their bid.
5. Repeat step four until there is one bidder left.
Of course, you’d need to boot your Realtor for this.
Platinum 10:48 pm on February 11, 2010 Permalink
You did not say which market you are in. Some markets change by crossing a street or to the other side of town.
Homes sell when the are priced right, period.
If you have unqualified people who want to buy your home, I may be able to help. I am a nationally known credit score and mortgage lending expert.
fivemtnl 1:52 am on February 12, 2010 Permalink
Just say owner wants to sell quickly so price is reduced.
monrovia 2:57 am on February 12, 2010 Permalink
First, take into account the housing market has leveled off some and with so much inventory (homes avaiable) properties seemed to be on the market longer. Three weeks is still a relatively short amount of time and I would not begin to panic until the 5th or 6th week.
With that said, pricing & marketing a home is very important. A price reduction seems like the immediate answer but unfortunately this does not get back any of the time that has been lost at the beginning of the listing period. Instead of a price reduction, you may want to take a look at paying down the cost of the buyer’s rate. Or maybe you want to give some credit towards their closing costs and/or needed repairs for the home. Buying down the rate is key in a market where interest rates keep on creeping up. Your Realtor should be able to help you but if they are not, there is nothing wrong with seeking representation that is going to be on top of marketing.