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Mckylie: We are still getting showings....also had a low offer presented Monday and after two counters....i think they walked? Must not have been serious. I am not getting excited at anything anymore. And since we don't have to sell I am not giving my house away at this stage of the game. We will wait it out a few more months--maybe the end of summer or until we don't have any more showings and then stop for this year.
I don't know why your recent price drop has not drummed up a new group of buyers? What is the price level cutoff in your neighborhood ($300-350?) My neighbor (who recently relocated) keeps dropping the price on her home about every 10 days...they live in another state and have a new home already. So said that they will keep dropping it until they sell. WOW.
We are the lowest in our area now along with a house across the street from us. That is great that you got an offer! Too bad that it didn't work out but that is great that there is serious interest in your house!
Mckylie: i honestly don't think they were serious, otherwise they would have been back by now. Oh well, I'll go clean the kitchen and get ready for more museum showings!
Something's gotta give right!? Eventually the cards will all play out, land where they will and our decision's are almost being made for us at this point. we are just playing the game. Cat and mouse!
It has been quite slow in the last couple of weeks McKylie, with the holidays and graduation it was expected. Hopefully it will pick back up again a bit here soon.
mckylie,
We had showings and then they stopped as well. Since I am moving from Maryland to Texas, I opted to take the buyout and move on. People were coming in, staying for hours and then the feedback was always "the house is beautiful but the price is just too high". If we dropped the price any lower the price would be below the appraisals we got for the buyout which I thought were low. People who looked at my house would go through my drawers and they were turning the air conditioner down so low that we would freeze when we got to come back home. It is almost as if people now want you to give the house away.
The house that we purchased in Texas is brand new. We offered a lower amount and he took it. Wouldn't you know the appraisal came back for $500 more than we offered. Who knows.
I hate walking away from a house that I love and the loss is actually just a paper loss since I am getting a much larger house, brand new, upgrades that I did not have here, for less than I owe on the mortgage that I have now. It has been very frustrating and I have shed an awful lot of tears, but what can you do?
Hang in there. If you still have time I think things will get better. I just flat ran out of time.
Shire: Welcome to Texas!
We are looking to buy right now (Northern VA) and I have noticed there was a ton of activity about 3-4 weeks ago. Lots of stuff went under contract and now it is like everything came to a screeching halt.
KD: Thanks! I am packing up as I type and we leave tomorrow! As soon as I get my pets out of the kennel! We close on our new house Monday Morning! I am looking forward to getting back to Texas! I have totally missed good Mexican Food!
Where are you moving from Shire?
Shire - you are very fortunate that you got a buy out and no longer have to worry about selling your house. Good luck in Texas!!!!!!!!
I just hate looking "wrong" in my hubby's eyes. We all know it has to do with price. And I was trying to convince him of it. But now he is telling me "See, it wasn't our price - it's just a slow market right now". Grrrrr.......
Mckylie, we had the same thing happen after one of our price cuts. We dropped about $70K and no one came for a showing for about three weeks. At the higher price, we'd been having four or five showings a week. I think it was poor timing on our part and we just happened to lower right before a buying lull, but I also hating looking like I was "wrong" to the rest of my family. In the end, though, I was right, and so are you.
Shire, I'm now in Texas, too. It seems like half of Zillow sellers have moved or will be moving here. We're about as far south as you can get, the South Padre area, and have just gone under contract on a beach house. We don't close until July 8th, though, so I'm jealous that you'll be in your new home so quickly! :)
Mckylie- I haven't posted in a while but I have been following your posts and hoping for a sale for you! If I could make it happen I would. In the meantime, we are now listed with an agent (also a broker) - he is qualified to do both. If it makes you feel any better - we live about a 15 minute walk to the Jersey shore, in a move in ready house (we are the closest to the beach in Point Pleasant in the price range and there are only about 5 houses in Point lower than ours period) Proximity to the beach is what generally determines price here. In the 5 weeks on with the agent we have dropped the price from $322 (which I said was entirely too high to begin with) to $287K. FIVE WEEKS!!! My husband was transferred and his commute and work hours are getting so stressful. . We've actually been trying to sell since December.
We finally decided to try to go the short sale route to get it done. I know everybody complains about short sales, but lets face it - you do have to give your house away now to get it sold. The transfer is really the only reason we may even qualify to do it. (Nevermind the $1000 a month in gas - he's a sales rep) At this point I told our realtor to put "mollusks, rodents and all other bottomfeeders welcome" on the listing.
The only good news now is that in the 15 conversations with the bank in the last 2 months their attitude (EMC Mortgage) has gone from "Buy another house and then you might have some leverage with the bank" to "just get the offer - a lot has changed in a couple of weeks"
Anyone in the same situation now - they do not hold the fact that you are up to date against you anymore nor will your credit be affected if the sale is completed. It goes on your credit report as "closed - for less" - so there is hope. Just be aware that anything can happen in the 11th hours, so have some cash ready to bring to the table to get it closed.
But anyway - showings have been spotty at best - and the people looking all either have homes to sell or aren't really looking. So its nothing you are doing - and you aren't wrong at all. I even laugh everytime I look at our Zestimate - it goes up weekly now! We are up to $331K!! What a joke.
Since October 2009
Have your agent look at your local market survey and determine what the "average" price reduction is.
You want to remember buyers have many,many homes to choose from.
How does yours stand out?
Look at it online in a search the same way they will and determine what the others have to offer that you are priced along with.
If you have a bigger kitchen, a better yard, more parking or a home gym and they don't flaunt it.
Make sure every buyer who is looking in your area knows your home has something to offer the others don't.
The only way to create demand is by seperating your home from the rest of the group.
Talk to your agent and see what they can do to stage the property and determine it's highest and best use.
Good luck!
Lisa Johnson
Coldwell Banker Massachusetts
I do a online search everyday. Can you say obsessed? One thing about our house is the outstanding back yard. Just about everyone who comes in LOVES it and comments on it! On Realtor.com and on our flyers it is highlighted.
Mckylie, You should add a few pictures of your house in the "about me" area on your avatar so we can see your house. I have seen your place yet. It sounds really nice!
Good idea! I will do that. For now - here is the realtor.com site with the virtual tours. The pictures don't do our backyard justice though. We extended our patio so it's great for entertaining and it doesn't really show that on the pictures/virtual tour. It also has surround sound and a tv with the cable outlet out there. Also, we have touched up the inside of the house and added more color since the pictures and tour were taken.
mckylie, your home looks great! I don't know much about the AZ market but here in PA, homes above $250,000 are slow to sell. Houses below that sell pretty quickly (if they are in good shape). What's the median price home where you are? Do you offer to "throw" anything in the mix? Things like a home warranty, more than just the standard appliances, some of the closing costs, etc. You might also want to use commission as the tool it is and offer higher than average commission. That will get more of the realtors in your area pushing to sell your home.
I wish you lots of luck. I know how frustrating it is. I've been there both from the homeowners end and from the Realtor's end. No one makes any money if it doesn't sell.
Sharon Sapp
Century 21 Call First - Temple, PA
Mckylie,
You are right with the price. Lowering was the way to go. Ask your Realtor, but it sounds like you are making the same mistake a lot of sellers are. They start at or a bit above market value and get showings and no offers. This tells you to lower the price, so they do but they don't go low enough and you start chasing the market down. The problem is you lowered based on your asking price not on market value. The other thing that is coming into play is the days on market. When you had your MLS tour, Realtors in your area formed an opinion of your house. They have a few minuets to decide if this is a great buy or a nice house, but priced to high. Most Realtors don't remember the price, they remember it was priced high, so when they search with there buyers they say "nice house a bit high in price though, lets look at some others first". Your reduction need to be WOW THATS A GOOD BUY to get the Realtor attention. One last think... Please stop saying your not going to GIVE your house away.... The market determines price, not you, not your neighbor and not your Realtor. The other think to remember is if your are selling low, you should be able to buy low. It is hard to sell high and buy low in the same market. Good luck
tscozzari - you are so right about chasing the market. I know that is what we were doing in the beginning. But with the latest price drops I believed that we were ahead of the gang and not longer chasing it - could be wrong. But our Realtor was really excited about the price we are at now and feels that we are very competitive.
I have never said we don't want to GIVE our house away but I know a lot of people - including my hubby say that. I have told my hubby numerous times that the market determines the price and your house is only worth what other people are willing to pay.
But for us there is a price point where it doesn't make sense to sell. And we are finally at that point pricewise. So, if it doesn't happen, it doesn't. I still hope though!
mckylie: I want your pool! Nice home and shows well....not sure why it's not selling. I don't thing it's the price, because if they are interested you will get a lowball offer--nevermind about the pricing. It's the market...it sucks!
Okay: here is a twist: We listed the house in January at $492,950; no action UNTIL we raised the price to $498,500 as an experiment, and got an offer (contingent) in early March at the original list price. Contingent offer expired in early May. Little to no activity since, showings, etc. The yard is FINALLY springing to life; it looks gorgeous; and we have done a few more upgrades; painted a room, painted the trim on the house, pressure washed the patio, and spread fresh bark. So this weekend, we are going to up the price to $504,950 to see if there are any hits from folks looking at $500k and above homes in the area. There are two homes in the development who are at $560k and $647k; who are a little bigger than ours; but same lot size. They do not have a whole house generator, heat pump, hot tub, fenced and landscaped yard. I know it sounds crazy; but wish us some luck....stranger things have happened, right?
Wannagonow.... It is Price.. Homes ARE SELLING. I am having my best year in the past four.... Price them right, market them hard and they will sell. I do understand that if the numbers don't work for you, you can't sell. Please keep in mind though, you should be able to buy lower making the price a mute point. Even if you have an offer in on a house, you can ask them to accept less so you can reduce your price.
Thanks tj. We want to buy a new build. We do like our houes a lot. But it's our first home and we have realized over the years the things that we want differently that can't be done to our house. Like a three car garage, a den for me because I am working from home now, bigger closets..........
Thanks wannago. We love the pool too. We actually designed it. There is a nice big bench area for the kids that they love! The price was definately a factor at first - we were overpriced. But now we have come down $70K and I truely feel we are competitive. The problem is there is so much inventory here in Phoenix. We also live close to a so-so apartment complex. That is the biggest negative we hear on the feedback. They love the house but aren't crazy about that. It doesn't bother us at all - but buyers can be picky. As I told my hubby if you are comparing apples to apples and one is by an apartment and one is not they are going to choose the one that is not more likely!
Nauntie,
You are right you may have been missing the people looking for a house from 500,000 to 600,000. That was a good move!!
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What a strange market?????
mckylie
Contributions: 5017
Zillow All-Star
Since September 2009
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The beginning of April we dropped our price to $369K. We were consistantly getting multiple showings each week. And for the first time we were generating real interest. We made a couple of people's top 3 list and our new neighbors told us they went back and forth and had a tough time deciding on their house and ours (both priced the same). I felt we were finally in the ballpark of where we should be but not quit there yet since we still had no offer.
So, the beginning of May we dropped - but only by $10K. A couple of weeks later and a lot of arm twisting later, I finally talked hubby into going down to $350K. I felt since we were so close and generating a lot of interest at $369K that this would be where we should be - plus it was opening it up to people looking up to $350K. Trust me - it was not easy to get him to give on it!
But it seems like we are still getting no where and only getting about 1 showing a week. We dropped to the $350K mark about a week and a half ago and have only had one showing since. I know that I am very impatient but it makes it look like I was wrong in my hubby's eyes and we should have just left it as is. I mean one week when we were at $369K we had 5 showings. And since we have dropped the showings have greatly! How frustrating!!!!!!!!
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