Zillow Advice: Home Selling - No Traffic Regardless of Decreased Price! Suggestions?

There are other options besides ...

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:16:00 GMT

There are other options besides retaining a realtor to get your house listed on the MLS --owners.com, helpusell.com, and valuemls.com all charge affordable flat fees so you aren't required to give the realtors a 6% cut out of your sale price.

(Note that these options are, in effect, "For Sale by Owner", so you won't have a realtor to give you advice and assist with paperwork -- services which may have negligible value anyway depending on your own abilities.)

Three things sell a home: ...

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:01:00 GMT

Three things sell a home: Price, location, and condition.

There's not much you can do about location. It is what it is.

That leaves price and condition. In a market like much of Florida is experiencing, your home needs to be *perfect*. Declutter. Clean (and I mean REALLY clean) everything -- down to the tracks the windows are in. Paint and carpet are the two greatest things almost any homeowner can do to improve their home for selling.

As for price, that can be very tricky. In a declining market, your price reductions may simply be chading the market down. Often the market won't even recognize what seems (and is) drastic to an owner. You need to get current and complete comps. Relying on a website isn't enough.

I agree that your home HAS to be in the MLS. The majority of buyers use real estate agents, and the majority of agents only look in the MLS. It *shouldn't* matter, but you could also try incentivizing buyers agents. Offer a bonus, or a co-broke that is higher then typical for your area.

You can also incentivize buyers. Offering to help with closing costs is typically much more effective than including goodies like appliances or flat-screen TVs.

For marketing material, photos sell. LOTS of photos. The higher quality the better.

Good luck, and don't give up!

No it's not!!!!!!!!! ...

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:33:00 GMT

No it's not!!!!!!!!! Doesn't work darnit!!!!

Try burying a St. Joseph ...

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:01:00 GMT

Try burying a St. Joseph statue. I hear it's the cat's meow!

Try to use Financing to atract ...

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:01:00 GMT

Try to use Financing to atract more buyers,currently I work directly with agents to help them move their properties with the help of financing, remembers mostly of people will ask you about financing before they look at a property.

DB, Your property really ...

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:03:00 GMT

DB, Your property really needs to be listed on the MLS.

Take this from someone who used to spend thousands of dollars per month on advetising.

Nothing is more effective for getting a property sold than your multiple listing service.

Marcie: I was not aware ...

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:24:00 GMT

Marcie: I was not aware the address was undisclosed. When I sign in, I see the address. I don't see where I have turned off address. If anyone knows, I would appreciate it. No, I have not listed this time on MLS, I have previously.

And I agree, aggressive price is relative. I was staying below the Zillow.com price since I can see other homes in the area that have sold for comparison and I have also added what updates I have done that are not part of the selling price I am asking.

thanks for the advise.

Suggestion: lower your price ...

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:01:00 GMT

Suggestion: lower your price more. You may think your price reduction was "drastic", but obviously the market does not agree with you. If you want to sell your house, you can either lower your price to sell now, or try to wait it out (but the market may keep sinking, so that might be worse for you in the long run).

As for the "make me move" idea, I don't think it's a good idea. When I see those things on Zillow, it makes me think one thing: the sellers aren't really trying to sell the house, but hey, if you offer a crazy price that they can't refuse, you can "make" him move.

There are many, many sellers who are desperate for any offer; no need to make some seller his dream offer that he can't refuse.

Good luck.

DBFlorida What have ...

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:46:00 GMT

DBFlorida

What have you been doing so far to market your property?

If it's just in zillow or other free sites, and, as Marci said, especially if you are indicating an undisclosed address, so simple marketing tips may be all that is necessary to increase your traffic.

Zillow does not have enough information for most to accurately price or value property.

In order to double cleck your pricing, you may want to ask a couple local good experienced successful relators to price your property in light of the most recent sales activity in your area (no further than 3 months back.)

If a property is priced correctly and marketed aggressively, it will sell in reasonable time for it's market.

Best of luck on your sale

Is it on the MLS? I ...

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:12:00 GMT

Is it on the MLS? I noticed it says "address undisclosed", which is a turn off to a lot of buyers.