From the Christian Science Monitor:
What will it take to get you to buy this home?
When she put up a new “for sale” sign two weeks ago, real estate agent Mary Ellen Wasielewski had some unusual advice for the sellers: Give the buyer money to build a garage.
The family lives in the Boston suburb of Medway, where homeowners enjoyed a seller’s market not so long ago. This $679,000 home has plenty to recommend it: an estatelike setting, a custom chef’s kitchen, a Jacuzzi, and a stone fireplace.But now the tables have turned. For a deal to happen, buyers must be pleased on every front. With the snow and slush of winter just around the corner, Ms. Wasielewski says no garage probably means no sale.
“The buyers are out there. I see the same ones coming around,” she says. “They’re not willing to pull the trigger until [they find] the perfect equation of the condition and the price.”
It’s a quandary faced by home sellers nationwide: How do you close a deal in today’s buyer’s market?
Many homeowners are getting increasingly aggressive and creative – in some cases mimicking incentives that contractors are offering on newly built homes.
very simple Advice: drop the price of the from 679K house to 300K with a a clear deadline to sell – you will have bidding war…..
Sellers can stand upside down for all I care. No reduction in price (atleast 40% off) , no bids from me. What do sellers think that we are some kind of Morons who landed from the moon yesterday??
I don’t believe you need to drop the price that dramatically to spur a bidding war in today’s market.
Heck, just price it under recent sales and similar listings and you are likely to sell quickly.
Sales volumes haven’t fallen to zero, people are still buying. Don’t get me wrong, volumes have fallen dramatically year-over-year (and multi-year), but we’d be ignorant to think nothing was selling when the data tells us otherwise.
As a seller, it’s in your best interest to be the lowest priced of the bunch. It’s really that simple.
jb
“mimicking incentives”
Forget about it!!!How about starting by listing 10% below similar listings??? Not enough to get me off my *ss, but a start.
It is just amazing though that they keep fussing with incentive rather than hard price drops.
Which one is more enticing?
buy your house @ 679K and you will pay me to build the garage.
OR
buy your house for say 20% to 30% off @ 540K – 475K.
Keep your garage any day. The discount will sell the house. Especially if you have the equity in the house.
“How about starting by listing 10% below similar listings”
would not motivate me at all either.
Keep dreaming grubbers.
No sympathy for this greedy bunch.
The tables have turned accept it and start plunging your 2005 price. oh it’s 2007 soon.
Between 2002 and 05 the whole industry duped the masses. Hell did anyone see it coming?
When selling a house became a “gameshow” on TV did anyone get a clue?
It was all about using a house to ripping each other off. (latest owner is the rotten egg!)
Now what is left are property rich money poor market chasers with obnoxiouly overpriced shacks which now cost 2x the same amount in 4 years!
Hope all you Grubber/Flippers satisfied!
1st time,
One giant Ponzi.
In the town I’m interested in, I’ve been looking at the same 30 houses for sale since July and these people haven’t budged on their price at all. I went to an open house (again) at one of the houses and i was (again) the only person who signed the book.
It is the price stupid!
Here is an example I know
2br, 2bath condo listed for $435k since April 2006. At the height of the bubble similar unit went for 405k (August 2005). Another unit went on market (slightly less desirable 1st floor vs. 2nd floor) for 315K, was snapped in one week for full asking price, it was an estate sell , they wanted a quick exit. The unit was bought in 2000 for 143K. Still made about 150k in profit after expenses
So the bottom line is price it right and it will sell. Do be greedy.
First – the homebuilders admit the downturn (all the recent advertisements) and give incentives.
Then – the resales offer similar incentives.
We’re simply going through a step by step deterioration of the market.
What I find interesting this cycle, is how analytical, and deliberate the steps are – like everything else in our culture – everything is a preplanned, I’m smarter than you are, marketing ploy.
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3…. all that matters for buying opportunities is – when will we hit bottom?
I skip all listings priced at 2005 or above prices. If it’s around 2004 comps or at least 10% below 2005 than I take a look. Most buyers rather negotiate from a reasonable price than deal with a contentious negotiation. When I lowball and they scoff, but counter a small discount. I just walk away…
We have not run into any seller who was willing to negotiate from offers 10% below current list. The sellers and agents just aren’t there yet.
“Zac Says:
November 14th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
In the town I’m interested in, I’ve been looking at the same 30 houses for sale since July and these people haven’t budged on their price at all.”
Zac: I’ve been seeing the same thing with Red Bank. Same houses sitting there since July. No price reductions. Occasionally one will drop off and be relisted at the same price. One came on the market at a good price and was quickly snapped up within days. Didn’t get a chance to see the inside, but from the outside it looked very good for the price. Was suspecting that they wanted a sure sale and just priced it right. There’s a house I’ve been very interested in, but I swear it’s priced about $200k too high. Asking $680k, but I think it’s really only worth $500k tops.
Not really looking to buy until next summer at the earliest. Surprised people aren’t dropping their prices more.