Home Selling Strategies: Another question added

What do you think of these strategies:

1. Price your place with room to spare. Then be prepared to drop it once, twice, even 3 times to show buyers they are getting a bargain.

2. Price your place competitively with minimal room for negotiation. Dropping your price shows desperation and could turn some buyers off. Also, a drop of 5, 10, even 15K doesn't make that huge of a difference with low interest rates over 30 years.

3. Don't have an open house since only 5% lead to an actual sale. They typically only invite in nosey neighbors and people who are also looking to sell or want decorating ideas.

How much room would you leave for negotiation? On a % basis.....

Message edited 3/13/2013 11:14:49 AM.

Home Selling Strategies

The strategy I would go with is price the house to SELL. If its too high (#1) you might not get any traffic at all. No Interest. Make sure you know the comps and are priced accordingly.

For #2, I think you HAVE to assume you will negotiate. What does minimal room REALLY mean. If its your bottom bottom line? Is it what you HAVE to seel it at so you dont loose your shirt? My house was priced WELL under market value, and we got them down another $35k. Don't go into it thinking "I will not negotiate". I persoally feel you will be stuck.

I bought my house from an open house. YES! I go to all of them in my neighborhood now. I want to see whats selling, what they are offering (amenities) the houses and the real estate agents. But I also have a friend who is looking and might want to be in this neighborhood. My personal opinion is you never know.

I would stage the house well. Remove clutter. Price it well and be ready to negotiate. Even if that means addng money for buyers closing costs etc.

Good luck.

Re: Home Selling Strategies

We sold a home last year...that was

1. Priced to SELL. If the buyer's know the market, then they will know what is and isn't moving.

2. No Open Houses. I liked going to them because I am nosey, but the agent talked us out of holdng any. The house sold in no time.

Good luck.

Home Selling Strategies

I dont know about the no open houses. If there are a few people that want to see it having them all there at one time during open house can make the sellers life easier lol.

Price to sell, know what things are actually selling for not what people are listing them for. I saw the home we bought through an open house.

Message edited 3/13/2013 10:55:38 AM.

Home Selling Strategies: Another question added

I wholeheartedly agree with approach #2, and I think most agents would agree with me. With the internet, buyers are armed with information and know going in if a home is priced high or low for comps. If it's priced high they are looking for a reason not to like it. If it's priced fairly or even low, buyers tend to be more forgiving.

I can say anecdotally that the buyers are out there in droves. Properties that are priced fairly are getting snapped up very quickly, sometimes in days and sometimes with multiple offers.

As for open houses, I think they are a worthwhile tool. First of all, what if you are in that 5% that gets the buyer from an open house, not having one would mean you miss out on that buyer. Second, it's a great way to prepare for showings. Meaning that when you have an open house you tend to clean top to bottom. Then it's easier to maintain that throughout the week. I understand your concern about nosy people and I hear that objection a lot. What you have to weigh is whether the chance to sell your home is worth the inconvenience of having a few strangers walk through your home, supervised by an agent. Most agents I know don't let people roam the homes. We take buyers one at a time through and stay with them the entire time.

Home Selling Strategies: Another question added

I would price the house to sell. We had offers on 3 houses that we liked and knew they were priced to sell. We lost all 3 because they had multiple offers and all the houses were new to the market. One was only on for a few days.

I would def have open houses. It doesn't cost anything and if the broker is willing to do them then why not.

Re: Home Selling Strategies: Another question added

We go to open houses every weekend and trust me, if I saw a house I loved, I would make an offer. We aren't considered serious buyers since our current home is still not listed, but for the right house, DH and I would def hustle and make offers. We are fortunate that we *could* carry 2 mortgages.

Re: Home Selling Strategies: Another question added

Re: Home Selling Strategies: Another question added

We bought our house after seeing it on an OH. Yes, you'll get some nosy neighbors (I've done that, too ) but you'll also get actual buyers coming in.

Re: Home Selling Strategies: Another question added

I would price it to sell, i.e. price it in line with market value. I know you have a co-op, and I sell a lot of co-ops. Pricing is everything! And it's going to sell for what someone is willing to pay for it, regardless of what you list it for.

If you list it for $300K and it's worth $250K, it's going to sell for around $250K. It may just take a lot longer and become a stale, stigmatized listing (people lose interest and wonder "what's wrong with that unit? it's been on the market forever!") because you started out too high. And if it's worth around $250K, and you price it accordingly, you will sell for that, but more quickly and with less inconvenience and frustration for you. (Because, let's face it, does anyone really like having their home on the market, having to keep it in "show ready" form, having strangers come through to look, etc.). And while people worry about underpricing/not leaving enough room for negotiation, if you price it too low, the market will correct itself. Worst case - if you price it a little low, you will draw multiple offers and have a bidding war. As other people have mentioned on other threads, houses that are priced right are selling quickly and for full asking or more.

You will know right away if your pricing strategy is right. If you aren't getting showing activity immediately, and if you don't have any offers within a few weeks (even if you are getting showings), you need to re-evaluate the pricing.

I would allow the open houses. It's one more marketing tool and greater exposure to the buyers who are looking, so how can that hurt? The more buyers who have the opportunity to see your property, the greater chance it will sell faster and for a higher price. It's also a convenient way to get a bunch of showings done all at once. I don't think it makes sense to have open houses every weekend, but I think you should definitely have one when it hits the market (to capitalize on the interest generated by a new listing), and then after any price adjustments, at a minimum. Last year I sold 2 houses from open houses. So while it's not as common to get an offer from an open houses as from a private showing, it does happen.

I would just make sure if you go through the trouble of holding an open house, that your agent will fully market the open house (no point in scheduling one if you won't get a good turnout) and get information on how he/she plans to work it, if you have concerns. A good agent has open house procedures that safeguard your home and make sure things flow smoothly.

Re: Home Selling Strategies: Another question added

I like to price a house to sell- or it sits and then you get even lower offers

when I price a house to sell I get close to asking and multiple offers with in 30 days

and I do NOT do open houses- there are many reasons why and I explain this to the home owner during my listing presentation

if they still insist I will do one- but I would rather have buyers call me or there own realtor to make an appointment - I like qualified buyers- not names on a sign in sheet or nosey neighbors

I listed 23 homes last year and sold 20 of them

this year so far I listed 13 and sold 9 (3 were listed in 2012)