Greetings. Forgive my intrustion in the agents section of the forum, but I wanted to have this request read and commented upon. And this is the happening joint.

Although the questions relate directly to my own home/listing, I would imagine that the questions posed and the situation I am facing will be seen more and more as this real estate slowdown runs its course. So perhaps the answers given will help some of you as well.

First, my agent team is really good and I have worked with them several other times. No real complaints. It is just that I am looking for ideas and suggestions that I might make to them about how to shake things up a bit and think outside the box so as to get my house sold. Sometimes I think there is the tendency to follow a routine and fall into a house marketing rut: "We do A, then we do B, then we do C" etc., with A, B, and C being the regular old stuff.

My house has been on the market for about 6 weeks. Not a long, long time I recognize, but the traffic has been very slow. 3 showings, a bit of a yawn in terms of agent previews, no offers.

A few details:

1. The location is very good - best section of town.
2. It is a townhouse condo, not a single family home - which I recognize will eliminate some buyers.
3. It is a unique floor plan - which will rule out some buyers but hopefully intrique others. A multi-level condo - 3 1/2 stories, with (believe it or not) 8 different levels (lots of half-story levels, lofts, etc.) Lots of steps (bad for some but they are part of the open/charming layout - 17 foot ceilings, rooms overlooking rooms, and so forth.) 4 BR,4.5 BA, 2300 sq. ft. No garage - which will throw some people off - but instead we have the 4th bedroom and bath.
4. Condition: excellent. We did a big makeover with granite, stainless, Italian terracotta tile, wide plank floors, designer accent paint, new fixtures, carpet, etc. etc.
5. One other location detail - it is within walking distance of a hospital, medical center, lots of doctors offices, an upcoming medical school, etc. So - should be great for medical people.
6. Price - a touch on the "ambitious/aggressive" side, but not way out of line. Priced at the higher end of what should be considered the market range.
7. The market here: a little sluggish, but not awful. A bit more inventory than normal, listings taking longer to sell, prices fairly steady.
8. We're selling for health reasons. We planned to be here for the next 20-30 years, but we now need a 1-level.


My agent team has done the normal round of advertisements: newspaper, real estate magazines, TV homes show.

At my gentle insistence (I'm such a pain) they did an open house (18 showed - 10 were neighbors)and an agent lunch (25 came, I provided an iPod and a $50 restaurant certificate as door prizes and my agent team paid for the lunch.)

The agent feedback sheet comments from the lunch were generally very positive (who knows if people really say what they mean I guess though) with positives noting the condition, room, multiple master suites, decorating, cleanness, interesting layout. Negatives were noted as stairs and no garage. As to pricing, most thought the price was in line, some commented that it was a little on the high side (It's at $319,950 btw)and answer to the "best price to sell in 30 days" question seemed to mostly be in the $299,950 to $309,950 range.

And still .... no showings to speak of. My quandary is trying to assess whether it's price, a-specialty-property-just-waiting-for-the-right-buyer, the lukewarm market, the nuclear reactor I keep in the basement, or a voodoo curse that someone put on the place.

The home is one of those "suprise" properties. A row of similar (from the outside) condos - all nice enough - with ours being the "wow" one. I have been of the opinion that if you get enough people inside it is inevitable that someone will fall in love. (People seriously do almost always say "wow" when they visit.)

So in a nutshell, my question to you fine folks is this: How do you generate some "buzz" and get people in? I think it's a numbers game - it will take "X" number of showings before the right buyer sees it. But how to get them in? Do you have any advertising ideas for my agents - catchy, unique, eye-catching ideas? Thoughts on target marketing? Shall I hire a stripper to stand outside the house? Resort to kidnapping anyone I see looking at other houses and force them to see mine?

Sometimes the knee-jerk reaction is "lower the price" and that might well be the answer. But prior to taking the "easy way out" I wanted to ask for suggestions and creativity from you folks.

And if price is the answer, would you suggest simply lowering it, or offering some more creative cash-at-closing type incentives: $X dollars toward closing, pay the property owners assocation dues for year, pay real estate taxes for a year, pay $X toward the downpayment (if their loan allows), offer to personally mow their lawn and clean their garage (Ha! Fooled 'em. It doesn't have a lawn or a garage!)

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, suggestions, wisdom, noggin-thumping, or raspberries.

Rob

If the place is immaculate and the location is good, and you are really motivated, lower the price. Unfortunately you are at the price level where you will just miss the traffic of all those who's range goes up to $300,000.

Some have also suggested that raising the coop commission in order to increase traffic works for them.

I would revisit the price

Thanks for the suggestions. Any other thoughts - perhaps as to creative marketing and building interest in the property?

Have you tried putting it on CraigsList.org? You could add whatever incentives you want, but chances are, if people have seen the place and loved it and not made an offer - the price is too high.

Create a custom website just for your place, with lots of big pictures detailing every nook and cranny. Make sure the pictures are of excellent quality. Post links to it on various places online.

What age group/demographic is it most likely to appeal to? Create flyers and post them in places where those people are likely to be (do not state this age group in your advertising! Fair Housing looks down on that.)

Assisting with closing costs is a good idea....but I do not know if that would be enough of an incentive. If the price is too high...

You had me at overpriced.

I don't believe having lots of pictures detailing every nook and cranny are the way to go. 2-3 pics is sufficient. I know you will disagree.

If you show them all these pics and they see something they don't like, they might not want to even visit the home. But if you get them in the home and they see 5 things they do like and something they don't like, they might just over look the one thing they dont like since it has lots more they do like. Make sense?

Your goal is to get buyers into your home. You don't need to be a photographer. Don't let prospective buyers talk themselves out of it while they are in front of their computer. You want buyers to come into your home, and have them invisioning themselves in your home.
2-3 good quality pics, detailed description, and price it right.

RealEstateClient,

I may have missed this, but does your developement or community allow For Sale signs and directionals?

Maybe you want to ask your agent to send postcards to the neighbors stating, "Want to choose your next neighbor?"
and then have details about the home on the card. Also, on the cards ask them if they know any friends or family who would like to live in the community. Something to that affect.

RealEstateClient,

You seem like a very funny guy. I respect your motivation in wanting to help your agent in the selling process.

I think you hit the nail right on the head when you said that it is priced at the higher end of the market range. It will usually come down to price being the issue. You are missing all of the buyer prospects looking up to $300K too. What is the lower end of the market range for your property? If it's around $300K, then you should have it there if you need to sell fast.

You also stated that most people actually say "wow" when walking into your property. This might not always be a good thing, especially if your property has an unusual layout. Many times people get caught by surprise when they walk into a property that is unusual. "Wow" might be a surprised reaction by some of these visitors.

If you decide that you are flexible with your price, I would advise that you lower the price, not increase the incentives instead. Increasing incentives will not be as noticeable as decreasing the list price. Buyers and their agents start their search with a price in the criteria, not closing cost factors. Let the buyer inquire about that other stuff in their offer instead of you offering it up front.

Another thing that you may want to ask your agents to do for your listing is to email all of the agents in their company. Have them send out postcards to the surrounding neighbors or even apartment complexes where people are renting that may want to move up.

I hope it all works out for you. I think we are all having the same problem with our listings not getting enough traffic. You came to the right place to ask your questions though. I hope we can be of help. Good luck.

Yes I disagree. The OP has stated that his condo is very unique with an unusual layout. I submit that putting only two or three photos will make buyers think that there is something to hide.

Even though I am newly licensed, I have been "in the business" for nearly six years, and even more than that, one of my oldest and dearest friends has been a broker for over 20 years. I have spent many, many, MANY hours educating myself over the past several years.

Yes, if something is sucky, don't put it in the pictures. I have seen many listings where it would have been best had they agent stuck to 2-3 pictures. However, if you have an exceptional property, you should flaunt it, and flaunt it well. People on the internet want lots of pictures.

You are free to disagree, but the vast majority of what you will find on the internet on this subject will back up what I'm saying.

Have another open house and have your broker mail invitaions to all of those medical professionals in the area.

All the other agents have indirectly hit on it. It is the price.

The list price should be $300,000 even. (Not $299,000, $299,500, $299,900, $299,950 or for god sakes $299,888.) Those prices were pre internet, when REALTORS used a printed book, the idea was to be listed first and to stand out. Granted, $299,900 sounds better than $300,000 but is not practical in the computer age.

Have your agents check and you will find most $300K properties are priced one of those above combos. Today's buyer, first check for homes on the Internet (80%). They have a multitude of web sites to go to and all have a search function of low and high It is in 25 thousand increments. Would it make sense to you that priced $300,000 will attract your property to the most potential buyers? People looking 275K to 325K will see your listing.

The good news, priced at $300K you will indeed attract all those buyers that do not want to go over $300. You will now be on their radar.

The better news, for those buyers who can spend over $300K yours will show up on their radar, and if it compares favorably to higher priced listings then yours will sell and the other higher priced listings will help you sell. At $300K your home is now the lowest priced condo in this upper market and will appear to be the best investment.

The best news, if your agents drops the asking price by $20 thousand then it will create an urgency, that this condo will not last long. Thus increasing your chances of multiple offers that will in turn increase your chances of selling ABOVE asking price.

If your home was a bargain, then it would have already sold. National statistics state that 40% of homes expire which is better than 80% of FSBO's. Why? It is always because of price. Nationally 50% sell in the FIRST 30 days with 15% selling in the next 30 days. In our market these averages also hold true, however the average days on market are 117 days. That means that if 65% sell in the first 60 days then the majority take closer to six months to sell to make an average of 117 days. In the case of homes that are on the market longer, if you look at their history, it is usually because they finally dropped their price to market value to get an offer to sell.

I would say without looking at your condo and reading your letter that you have the wrong price point. If the agents are yawning and you have had a limited amount of showings (3) then it is price. On the other hand if you had a multitude of showings and no offers then it as also price. You should have an offer with ever 10 showings.

The advertising and open houses help bring potential new clients to your agents. Open houses have a 1% chance of actually selling to the people attending. Usually these folks are just "looking". If they were serious buyers they would have agents making appointments of the top 8 or 9 homes they want to look at to make an offer. Side Note: Agents that do open houses do so because A. they make the client happy and B. they have an 8% chance of picking up a buyer and/or seller. So they actually have a 9% chance of making a sell. Keep in mind that these are averages, so a competent agent will garner many more potential clients from an open house. Another interesting fact is very, very successful agents don't do open houses because they do not work with buyers. They would rather spend their time listing houses because it takes one seventh of the time to make a sell. Buyers are much more time consuming.

It is always price. ALWAYS. If you had a home that was truly worth $300K, I don't care what incentives you offer (I.E. offering some more creative cash-at-closing type incentives: $X dollars toward closing, pay the property owners association dues for year, pay real estate taxes for a year, pay $X toward the downpayment, if their loan allows.) or you did more than the usual form of advertising (I.E. newspaper, real estate magazines, TV homes show) say you did full page ads in the newspaper, had billboards on the interstate, advertised on TV during the Super Bowl but instead of $300,000 (market value) you were priced on the "ambitious/aggressive" side, at $319,950 (who came up with that price?) It would not sell. Your agents would pick up a multitude of new clients as a result of their "out of the box" incentives, open houses, and advertising campaigns. The end result if your condo was truly worth $300K would become an expired or a market reject as I like to call them. On the other hand if your condo was truly worth $300K and you listed it for $280,000 it would sell in the next couple of days without advertising or incentives. My guess it would sell for more than $280,000 because of multiple offers. Side note: I had some clients that had a house that was unique and they had done quite a few updates but refused to price it at market value. They were, how can I say this nicely, "such a pain". On their gentle insistence we priced the home 15K more than I suggested and insisted that I think out of the box and advertise very aggressively. We actually received an offer of my suggested list price 90 days later. With my guidance they countered to their "bottom line" which was still $5000 too much. The buyers walked away. At day 130 at my urging they finally dropped asking price to their "bottom line" of $5000 above my original suggested list price and earlier offer and settled on their previous counter. We then within 4 days had an offer $10K less than asking price. (I had e-mailed all the previous agents and known buyers agents of the price reduction) My clients held firm, the buyer actually came up $5K and then walked away. Bottom line: I sold seven other houses in the same price range as a result of the market reject and just one of the sellers is still living in the house. (Divorce)

Sometimes agents do A, then they do B, then C because they are professionals and just like a Doctor you have a set routine that you follow because it works. Their marketing usually satisfies their client and if the house or condo is priced right they make a sell. If it is not priced right, at least by doing the routine they will pick up other buyers and sellers.

If you hire a stripper to stand outside the house or if you "lower the price" have your agents call, mail or e-mail the three agents and the ones that attended the brokers open and relay the fact that you either have reduced the price or hired a stripper. Secondly, call, mail or e-mail all of the people that attended the open house as well as everyone in your condo association that you have either reduced the price or hired a stripper. Finally, have your agents call, mail or e-mail all of the real estate agents that represent buyers of condos and relay the fact that you either have reduced the price or hired a stripper. Do this on a Tuesday or Wednesday.


My final suggestion to you is this. Have your agents do an absorption analysis on the market in the 300 to 320 range. Find out how many of these condos have sold in a year and how many are currently on the market to determine how many months of inventory there is. Now objectively analyze your competition. If your absorption analysis tells you that 24 condos have sold in your price range in the last year and there are currently 12 for sale then you have a six month supply. If your condo is not the best one or two on the market then it will not sell. I would price it at $300,000 and expect multiple above asking price offers if it is truly worth more than $300,000.

One thing will happen regardless of what your agents do or not do. It will either sell right away at $300K or it won't. If it does not sell at $300K then you need to adjust your marketing (PRICE) to get it sold.

John R Horton
RE/MAX Services
JohnRHorton@remax.net
http://www.JohnRHorton.com
(812) 568-3306

WOW!

Decaf?

Cool Cat,

This is one of the best, if not THE best description of what we do as listing agents I've ever seen. You nailed it.

RealEstateClient - I had a fabulous townhouse once with lots of levels and a huge WOW factor (35 ft ceilings, rooftop deck). Couldn't give it away. The problem was that as potential buyers explored it, they got worn out from all the stairs. They didn't think about how on a day-to-day basis they wouldn't be running from the garage to the rooftop deck all the time, but, after looking at the townhouse during the showing, they were out of breath. Which, unfortunately, colored their view of the livability.

If, indeed, all the stairs are the problem, then you're going to have to be at a price point where the buyer is stunned that he can afford such a spectacular place. In other words, yours compares extremely favorably with the smaller, ho-hum places he's been looking at.

Good luck!

CoolCat's advice is dead-on. If the price was right, it would've sold by now. No amount of "outside-the-box" marketing can help sell an over-priced listing. Get the price right, and you will see increased showings and offers. Best of luck with the sale of your home.

Thanks very much for all of the observations. I appreciate the insights.

Addressing a few questions or points that were raised:

JoeyBagadonuts asked if signs are allowed in this community. Technically (per the association by-laws) you can't, but the POA kind of looks the other way. A goodly number of flyers have left the brochure box (probably 75). Some I'm sure were just curious neighbors. My agents are getting ready to put a sign rider on - "4 master bedroom suites" or something that effect. I saw one recently that said "I'm beautiful inside" which I thought might work for our house situation, but then again it would be right above the agent's picture, so that could look kind of odd, huh? "And I love puppy dogs, moonlight walks on the beach..."

The majority of your answers felt that it was a price problem, and I realized going in that this might well be the ultimate conclusion. Pricing the home was a little tricky. Here were a few of the "issues" in coming up with the right price:

There weren't many comparables to work with in figuring it. There was one unit in this developemtn that sold a few months ago - after being "remodeled" after a fire. Oddly, instead of doing it right and nice when they had the chance (and the insurance money) to work with, they went original and/or builder grade with a lot of the repairs - vinyl kitchen floors, cheap-o light fixtures, lower-end cabinets, etc. Pretty dull, and it was a smaller (3BR/2BA) unit. It was, however a traditional one-level unit with slots in a garage and an elevator to the unit (suited for older buyers.) It sold for $275,000. Ours is heads and away nicer and much larger, but theirs worked for older people or those with garage needs.

Another smaller unit - a true walk up (you go up two flights of narrow stairs just to get to the unit) sold recently. A nice layout once you're there though. It would take (and the new owners are going to spend in time) probably $75,000 to get it to the condition that ours is. It does have a 1-car garage down below it. They paid $215,000 for it, so ultimately they'll have $290k or so into it. Ours is street level entry - which is much easier and 4BR/4.5BA vs. their 3BR/3BA, but they do have a garage.

There is another unit listed - 3BR/2BA, elevator, garage, kind of like the one that sold for $275k but a little larger, better view, and more nicely redone. Still on the plain side, but a step up in size, quality, and so forth from the $275k unit. His was listed (for a long time I might note) at $350,000 and he's dreaming I think. He recently brought it down to $335k. My agent offered to "co-host" the agents lunch/open house with him - so as to possibly bring in more agents to look at the two. The listing agent for that unit ($335k) declined and said that he really didn't want to be in a position where people were looking at his and ours back to back, since ours was so much nicer. No kidding, that's what he said.

I do happen to know that another unit -- 3BR/B2BA, garage, two-level not multi-level, very, very nicely re-done -- has sold privately but has not yet closed (and won't until fall) so it's not a true comp. The price was $300k.

As far as the neighborhood and pricing of other homes - both single family and condos - it's a really wide range.

Using a 10-block sweep, single family homes go from $250,000 up to $1,500,000 with the average, normal, middle of the road place being probably $450,000.

Condos and townhouses in the general area are not abundant (it's mostly single family), but they range from older (1970s and 1980s) non-updated units in another development at around $200,000 up to a new super schmaltzy development two blocks away - on the same street as ours - where units are going for over $300/sq. foot with one unit having just sold for almost $1.5 million. (Hmmm, at $300 sq. ft that would have my unit at $690k. Maybe that's my problem. We're priced too low! <smile>)
Interestingly, the new super high-end development is selling very well at that price and there is another one that very obviously appeals to older "trade-down" buyers (it's feels like a retirement home when you go into the lobby, with all the retired folks hanging out there). They are smallish - 1600-1800 sq. ft but they sell quickly for $375k to $425k, while ours sits and collects dust. I do realize though that they appeal to entirely different demographics and buyer bases. (Theirs to senior citizens, ours to oh...I don't know...mountain climbers who don't own cars perhaps.

So the difficulty was that there weren't many comps of condo units in our development and the other developments were rather different situations than ours. Our agents said, "If we were pricing a bi-level in XYZ Acres or ABC Hills we could have a price for you off the top of our heads that would be be almost perfectly correct. Yours will take some figuring and head-scratching." They came back with a range - ranging from "quick sale" to "test-the-market" of $289,950 to $329,950. We (being greedy and optimistic) went with the $319,950 - which is why I referred to it as the "higher end of what should be considered the market range." We figured (naively perhaps) that ours was so much nicer than the others that had sold, had more bedrooms, more baths, etc. We failed to take into account the car lovers and step-haters I guess. I believed (and still do to some degree, although I'm beginning to see the light) that it was just a matter of getting the right buyers inside (given the "no one knows what lurks inside this house" aspect and the "Wow factor" and that compared to anything else around it was priced reasonably. Silly me.

Again, I appreciate the suggestions. I like the direct mail/contact ideas (to medical professionals and neighbors) and will definitely pass those along to my agent team (who are two great guys and extremely qualified agents who will probably be glad when I finally sell this house and can stop driving them nuts with my "helpful" suggestions!)

Oh, did I mention that we went ahead and bought another house already? About 8 blocks from where we live now. So I'm getting ready to be the proud owner of not one, but two - count 'em two - lovely homes. On the market one day and we yanked it up. I guess the real estate market is sluggish except for cases where knuckle-headed moron buyers jump in with both feet ... oh wait...that's me isn't it? Morons R Us.

Thanks again for all of the good insights. And if anyone has any more to add, please do so. Looks like we're about at price-lowering time, but if anyone feels that there are other creative suggestions that are worth trying. that informaiton would certainly be of interest. Heck, even if the price is lowered, good marketing/interesting building ideas are in order.

Rob

Your agent will probably shoot me for this, but... every once in awhile RAISING the price works. I had a unique home once - it was very sophisticated, very adult, very sexy, but absolutely not family friendly. I initially priced it at $550,000 and got nothing. A year later I put it back on the market at $675,000 and sold it in 18 days to a New York couple who were looking for something fabulous. The market hadn't changed all that much - the only difference was the price. I attracted a whole different type of buyer.

I tell ya'... I felt SO SMART that day!!

Okay, well, my personal opinion is you need to make your front walkway jump out at them and look very friendly and inviting with some potted plants and a pretty decoration on the door or something. Make it stand out from the others. Plant some flower borders along the walkway.

A couple of other things... (yeah, this will drive your agent crazy!) - I would try to re-take the exterior pictures on a bright sunny day. The outside looks gloomy right now. Also, there are an awful lot of pictures of stairs! Great quality photos though and your home is beautiful.

And I would use only one of the patio pictures - it's very gloomy outside and the alley shot looks scary, rather than inviting and relaxing!

(My choice: http://www.graphicdimensionsinc.com/download/_homes/2221bjeffersonst/images/DSC04470.JPG

Even better, open the umbrella on the patio and have a pitcher of lemonade on the table. LOL. I am spending too much time with stagers, I think. hee hee


I agree with Jennifer - it is GORGEOUS inside!

stay with 300k or 325k

I agree with the entire outside of the building looking very gloomy and depressing. Wait for a really nice day and shoot some great outside photo shots while the sun is out. It will make a huge difference in your photos. It looks like a very scary place to live right now with those photos.

Also, I felt a bit clastrophobic with those small hallways and stairs. I would take the stairway photos out. It looks like you have a 17 story condo. I am not too sure if I like the living room flooring where the tile ends and wooden floor begins. It is almost a contrast. There really isn't too much you can change about that though. You'll just have to work with it.

The outside photos are a big problem. Sunny photos will show much better. You also stated that there is an active comparable listed that is priced at $335K. That means nothing! Appraisers will look at what the recent comparables already sold for. You said yourself that most sold for under $300K. The one that was $215K and needs $75K worth of work put into it is very hard to compare yours too. Even though it may need $75K worth of work, it will not usually add that amount of value to the property. It will probably only add about half of that. It's too bad that people don't get the same amount for the money they paid for upgrades.

Without being your agent, I would say the $300K price point would be good. You will get buyers that are looking up to $300K and buyers that are looking from $300K - $400K. It opens up your variety of buyers. Let us know what you do.

Thanks for the suggestions regarding the photos. Obviously they were taken back in Februaary - just before the house went on the market - so the trees were bare and so forth. It does look more inviting now that spring is here. I'll call the photo layout company that my realtor used and see if they can swing by and replace the exterior shots.

I wondered about all the pictures of the stairs too. The guy said he was trying to help people understand how the house lays out - these rooms to stairs to these rooms to stairs to these rooms, etc. - but it does sort of play up what is a negative aspect to some people doesn't it? And I wondered about the multiple deck shots. I'll ask him to remove some of those. (And it looks like I need to re-stain the deck doesn't it?) All in all I thought the people did a decent job with the pictures (although some of the wall colors - especially the blue - look more brilliant/flashy in the pictures; they're more subtle in real life.) We have put out plants and flowers on the deck now, btw.

It just hit me. I hope no potential buyers (or agents) from my city are reading this forum - since I'm telegraphing my pricing thoughts!

Well, if it will help, take the link with pictures down now and if anyone else wants to see them, they can send you a PM.

Cool Cat. Great read. Thanks for the term " Market Rejects "

OK, if I were to reduce the price, do you have any suggestions as to how to make a bit of a splash with it and create some excitment? Something more than just changing the price and hoping that buyers or realtors notice?

Is there an ad, an agent notification technique, an announcement format, a marketing approach or something that has worked well for you when reducing a price? Something to make it a bit of an event and perhaps create some sense of urgency?

I'm sure my agents will have ideas on this, but you know me (well, you don't really but you're beginning to see that I tend to be a pest who likes to be at least a little bit involved in the process.)

Change it and they will come.

Sorry, I was in a Field of Dreams mood there. But really, I think just changing it will trigger the MLS to send out notice to all those with dynamic searches in that price range and people will start showing up if there is currently a market for your condo. Of course your agent should notify any agents or possible buyers they have come into contact with that inquired about the property or any buyers they are working with that are looking for a condo in your new price range. Put a "New Price" rider on your sign.

Real estate client,

A) Do you understand the importance of the right price point? It needs to be $300,000 EVEN! (Not $319,950, 309,950 or $299,950) So it shows up basically as a brand new listing for all the potential buyers looking under that magical $300,000 mark. They are searching in the 275-300K range and this pool of buyers is greater than the above 300k range. Having said that, priced at $300,000 also keeps you in front of this above 300k market searching in the 300-325k range. This is important, because now you have dropped your price by $20,000 this WILL get buyers and REALTOR's to notice. (If they are interested in a condo with that many stairs without a garage which is going to be a challenge.) If you drop the price in a series of small reductions it will cost you more! Do you understand the importance of the right price point? It needs to be $300,000 EVEN! Yes or No?

B) I would not, let me repeat, would not put a sign rider that states New Price or Reduced Price or any variation. That will cost you as well. This is advertising to potential brand new buyers that have not seen your listing that you are "motivated" willing to reduce, basically bring all offers. I would however, send postcards to All of the condo owners in your association, buyers that attended your open house, as well as the agents that showed your house, attended the brokers open and more importantly all of the buyers agents that deal in condos, with your new $300,000 price prominently and boldly posted over your picture stating Priced To Sell. If you plan on doing any improvements (I.E. Painting, new carpeting, new light fixtures etc.) you could hold showings for one or one week or 10 days. This might create some sense of urgency. (If they are interested in a condo with that many stairs without a garage which is going to be a challenge.) If you plan on moving to your new home it might be worth it to "hold showing" during that time that you move. I would also consider getting a home stager to come in and stage your condo. Does that make sense to you to notify the condo real estate buyers agents, neighbors etc.? Yes or No?

C) I can see that you can be a pest and keep asking the same questions and ignoring the answers that you do not want to hear. I welcome your comments, because I can say to you, everything I wanted to say to past clients that I had to bite my tongue when they wanted to "help" me in the selling process. Do you acknowledge during your condo selling process that you tend to have selective hearing and seem to be more concerned with playing Realtor than listening to the professionals? Yes or No?




I'm going to address a few questions or points that you raised in your second post. Hope this answers all of your questions once and for all! side note: I love being able to be rude to sellers when they are not my client.

1) Signs represent 20% of the inquiries on a property. It is a shame that you can't prominently put one out. The flyers in the brochure box you should have on it an 800# information 24/7 hotline. Instead of sign rider, I would put a banner with your homes new web address (that you can buy from Godaddy for $8.99) http://www.123SmithStreet.com instead of http://www.graphicdimensionsinc.com/listings/index.php?HomeID=4014&RInfo=2 in the window and also on the flyers. You simply purchase the domain name of your physical address and forward to that long cumbersome site address.

2) I would not be concerned. as far as not having comparable comps to properly determine your homes worth. Leave that to the appraiser to comp it out after it sells. He will magically appraise it within 1000 bucks. I would not concern myself with what has recently sold but rather what is your competition Today. Buyers did not see, nor care what was comparable that sold a few months ago. What compares to $300,000 in you market? At that price are you the biggest and the best for the money. Compare yourself to the competition, Today!

3) What is you demographic? You realize that condos typically appeal to a senior citizen demographic. Finding a mountain climber without a car interested in a condo with that many stairs without a garage is going to be a challenge.

4) Because your condo is not a cookie cutter and I'll take your word for it, that is truly a WOW piece of property. The only thing you can do is "test the market." You did not hire your agents to sell your condo, they can't sell it because they don't own it. Only you can sell it. They are simply the messengers between you and the market place. They put it on the mls in the market and there job is to report the results to you. You must be completely aware of your competition and priced accordingly if you want to sell instead of being a market reject. Like I said before, that I think you chose to ignore. One thing will happen regardless of what your agents do or not do. It will either sell right away at $300K or it won't. If it does not sell at $300K then you need to adjust your marketing (PRICE) to get it sold.

5) Exposing your property to the most potential buyers as possible is a good thing. Whether it is "medical professionals", "mountain climbers", "hookers", "neighbors", "condo buyers agents", or any mobile young professional can't hurt, but it is always boils down to price.

6) RE-READ your second post about you being a knuckle-headed moron buyer, that jumped in with both feet on a house that was on the market one day that you yanked up. I'm guessing this home had the best value compared to all of the other homes that you saw that were currently on the market. You did not want someone else to get this deal. You should carefully consider your next price and not inch down the price range but price it to sell based on today's competition. Like I keep saying. One thing will happen regardless of what your agents do or not do. It will either sell right away at $300K or it won't. If it does not sell at $300K then you need to adjust your marketing (PRICE) to get it sold.

Cool Cat, a little harsh, don't you think? He's just trying to be proactive with the selling process.

You said the same thing I said about the $300,000 exact price.

Realestate client - lest you think I was being silly about the welcoming entrance, take a look at these before and "after shots."

The first one is your picture exactly as it is now. It looks very cold and unwelcoming, and the need for stain on the fencing and the dead leaves on the lawn give it a forlorn look.

I used Paint Shop Pro to get the "after" effect: I brightened the picture and warmed the tone, and then added what it would look like with some of Mother Nature's cooperation, and a little elbow grease on your part. Not only will this make a nicer picture, but the overall impression when they visit will be much better too.






Of course, the grass won't be that green, and probably not that perfect, but you get the idea. Staining the railing a nice complimentary color, adding some flowers since spring is on its way...and a lawn ornament like the birdbath, and raking the leaves will make a BIG difference and make your place stand out a bit from everyone else's.

Hope this helps...

Very impressive, Mrs. Perky! The grass needs cutting though

Perky,

I'd suggest that anyone who wants to edit photos check with their MLS to see if that's "legal" Here in Vermont, we can't edit photos like that, because it changes the material facts of the house.

Winter photos contain snow, Spring photos contain mud, it's a fact of life.

I'd suggest that the photos be re-taken on a sunny day, and not until you get the owners to rake those leaves, and spruce up a bit.

A class in photography wouldn't be a bad idea either, since a photo taken head on is not always the best angle. In this photo are you featuring the house, or the lawn. It appears that you're featuring the lawn, get closer to the house and eliminate that huge expanse at the bottom of the photo, which is all that your eye is drawn to.

I did not intend that an edited photo like that be put on the MLS!! That was just for "informational purposes" only. LOL!!

I disagree with zooming in on this instance - this is just one unit in a bunch of multi unit buildings that all look alike. The lawn is a nice feature that can be individualized and make the property stand out. It's also a very important part of the home! I hate it when you can't get an idea of the size of the front yard because it's just the house. Zoom in for more detail, sure, but be sure to take a few wider shots too.

The photos for this house looked well done for the most part. Many of them required some minimal editing (brightening or straigtening). This "after" shot was never intended to be put up on the MLS or advertised as the actual house.

Cool Cat, my dad would have had a fit seeing grass that long. He usually mowed his grass every other day, and then wondered why it was brown and dead halfway throughout July. LOL

The idea is great but it becomes a huge letdown when the buyers get to the property. Then they start to ask around about what else is different than it appears. I would work to take the best photos of what is actually there and don't get too creative.

My opinion only!

WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT PUTTING THIS ON THE MLS????

I created this picture for the SELLER to SEE what it would LOOK LIKE with a little work on his part!!!

This is a common occurance especially with all the high tech virtual tours and photo technology. It's a good way to demonstrate curb appeal of what sellers could do to increase the odds in their favor.

But difinately will create disappointments if used.

I am not sure some of you people understand the point of why Perky made that picture. It was to show the seller what he could possibly do to his front yard to make the property look more appealing. It has nothing to do with the actual photo being used in the MLS.

Thank you. I'm glad someone understands! LOL

If anyone happens to be looking back at my previous posts you might note that I had the link to the virtual tour removed. Just in case any buyers or agents from my area happened to be reading this thread, it seemed kind of inadvisable to identify the property right alongside a discussion of lowering the price. Although the odds of such a reader putting it all together are small I figured it was better to be safe.

If anyone is interested in seeing the photos and did not have a chance, just drop me a private message and I'll gladly forward the link to you.

Oh, and Perky Assistant - I fully understood what you were seeking to accomplish by re-creating my yard via Photo Shop. It was clear that you were simply trying to help me visualize how the appearance could be improved, and that you weren't suggesting actually using the doctored picture on the MLS or in any promotional piece. Thanks for the work on that and your suggestions.

LOL I was beginning to think some people were thinking that Perky also meant "Stupid." LOL!!!

There's no need to yell. Your original post didn't specify that this was a representation for the Seller to see, so the assumption that you *might* have meant for it to go on MLS is a logical one.

Calm down!

I honestly see nothing in here except references to what the seller can do to make the house look like the picture I made.

When I explain myself twice, and people still insist on assuming I'm an idiot that doesn't know that you don't put doctored photos like that up on the MLS, I get a little aggravated. Sorry for yelling.

I think this comment summed it up and made it clear that this was an example.

Hey RealEstateClient I'm curious did you read my last post. Does it make sense what I wrote?

Do you understand the importance of the right price point? It needs to be $300,000 EVEN! Yes or No?

Does that make sense to you to notify the condo real estate buyers agents, neighbors etc.? Yes or No?

"Cool Cat":

You seem to have several questions that you are anxious to have me answer:

1. Did I read your post?

Answer: Of course


2. Do I agree with your points?

Answer: I thought some of them were quite useful and compelling.


3. Do I think that you are the all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-powerful guru of real estate?

Answer: Not so much.


4. Why haven't I responded to your posts?

Answer: I was faced with the choice of electing not to enter into a debate and/or argument, or calling to your attention that you have more than a bit to learn in terms of interpersonal dealings and basic social skills. I was opting for the former, but since you have again surfaced with another in your long series of "YES OR NO?" queries I'll take a moment to explain my general lack of desire to squander time and energy interacting with you.


I referenced certain social and/or courtesy deficiencies. To wit:

a) You SHOUT A LOT

b) Saying "Do you understand? YES OR NO?" over and over (and over, ad nauseum) implies that you are somehow entitled to a response from me, and secondarily that I'm not very bright. Sorry to disappoint you pal, but you are sorely mistaken on both counts. When and if I feel that any of your comments merit response I'll surely let you know.

c) In fact, saying "Do you understand?" repeatedly - after making the same point for the 99th time by the way - doesn't exactly engender productive responses and dialogue. To be frank, you come across as phenomenally cocky. But yes, to set your mind at ease, I did understand, and I heard you twice the first time.

d) "I can see that you can be a pest and keep asking the same questions and ignoring the answers that you do not want to hear."

"Do you acknowledge during your condo selling process that you tend to have selective hearing and seem to be more concerned with playing Realtor than listening to the professionals? Yes or No?"

These assume facts not in evidence, not to mention coming across as pedantic, overbearing, and condescending. Maybe those characteristics work where you live, but in most of the civilized world they are counterproductive to sucess in dealing with people. And given that you are in a people business, I can't imagine that these attitudes serve you well.

e) "...side note: I love being able to be rude to sellers when they are not my client."

"...I can say to you, everything I wanted to say to past clients that I had to bite my tongue when they wanted to 'help' me in the selling process."

Well, I'm sorry you find your chosen profession so frustrating and that you hold your clients in such low regard. I hope you are actually successful, but I would be remiss if I did not note that low career satisfaction and lack of enjoyment in dealing with clients are often the recipe for ultimate failure in a business endeavor. It seems that we can only mask our true feelings for just so long. So, perhaps some career or vocational counseling and retraining might be in order?

f) You know, the lamentable thing is that you actually did raise some very good points and succeeded in educating me in some areas that I had not considered. Normally I would have both thanked you for taking the time to enlighten me and would have commented positively about some of the actual real estate points that you made, however your approach effectively shuts down any desire to communicate and interact. If you give someone a box of chocolates, but first smear it with skunk oil, it isn't likely to be well received and appreciated.

At any rate, all of that aside, I do thank you for the factual suggestions you made regarding pricing, signage, key contacts, and so forth. Point well taken on the majority of them. I certainly learned from you as regards real estate.

Perhaps you learned something as well? (I suppose I could say "Yes or no??" here, but that would be so gauche.)

I'm glad I could help.

It's after midnight and I can't call my agent to ask this question. Would what I'm thinking of doing tomorrow hack my agent off or is it ok in your opinion?

I just read the online local real estate ads and noticed that there is an open house being held in the next block up from my place tomorrow.

Would I be out of line to tie a few balloons on the "For Sale" sign in front of my house, stick an "Open House" sign on each corner, and see if we get some walk-in, spillover traffic from the open house up the street?

Unless your listing agreement with your agent only allows him to market your home, then I would say that you're ok doing that. I would still ask your agent first before doing so though.

Thanks for the reply. I do plan to ask them in the morning - provided that I can reach them. I know that one of the team guys is out of town.

And in case anyone reading my previous post should get the wrong idea, I'm not trying to go around my agents or to do a quasi-FSBO or anything. My idea was just to have it open for anyone who happened to be coming by because of the other open house - and of course refer inquiries to my agents. I believe that you understood that, Len. Just wanted to mention it in case anyone else misunderstood my motive.

So in the event that I can't reach my team, this doesn't strike you as out of line then? Any other thoughts from anybody else? How would you, as a listing agent, react if you found out that a seller of yours had done this?

If you have a good relationship with your agent I doubt it would matter much, but the thing is that clients can sometimes "talk too much" about motivation or certain criteria they might shouldnt, as the excitement spills over into a conversation, or be a bit misleading, or cant answer questions that an agent could, which coult potentially make the showing a bit iffy or less interesting for the potential buyer. I'm a new agent, so what do I know, just a few things to think about.

1 % of homes are sold as a result of a open house.

The reason is the motivation of the buyers or "shoppers". Typically the majority of lookers are just that, lookers. The biggest percentage of open house visitors are not yet in the position to buy. They either have not put their house up for sale, need to sell theirs first, comparing yours to their property, or just simply looking for something to do, I.E. decorating , floor plan ideas, etc. The motivated buyers have their agents take them to all of the homes on the mls that are of interest. They are not concerned about the small percentage of homes that might happen to be open on any given Sunday.



Given the very small chance of return (1% chance) on your time, you might be better served to take Perky's advice by working on your curb appeal and not squander your time and energy by tying a few balloons on the "For Sale" sign in front of your house, and by sticking an "Open House" sign on each corner, to see if you get some walk-in, spillover traffic from the open house up the street or by "Resorting to kidnapping anyone you see looking at other houses (or open houses) and force them to see yours?"

Another factor, potential buyers would rather see a home uninhibited, they feel uncomfortable with the sellers present. That is why, when someone wants to see your home you should leave and not be present at showings or open houses.



I agree with this new agent, The biggest reason I would advise you against holding your own open house, is that you might say something that would hurt you in your agents negotiations, should a real potential buyer surface. I.E. A combination or variation of any of the following:

"

At any rate, all of that aside, I see the pictures on the internet have not changed, nor the price.

Good points all the way around regarding:


- PHTTROATM (Potential Homeowner Tendency to Run Off at the Mouth)
- Open houses in general
- What people like (I know for example that I don't care for FSBO open houses - since the owners tend to hover and follow me around)


Given all of that (plus the fact that it's raining today, and I feel lazy, and I have a touch of the flu, and the dog ate my homework) I suppose I'll leave off the open house idea. Plus, while I don't think my agents would mind, if it would bug them for me to have done this, no need to risk that.

As to the exterior itself - spring has taken care of a good bit of that already. The trees now have leaves, the ground now has a nice covering of periwinkle. Between that and our getting the dead leaves up and some plants in place, things are prettier. I haven't gone as far as painting the little fence there, but we do actually have a fellow scheduled to pressure wash and stain the deck, so getting him to do the fence too is no big deal (if we can ever get him to show up!)

I understood the concerns regarding the exterior appearance. What I think some forgot to consider though was that the pictures were taken in mid-February - when things were gray, bare, and bleak. A product of the timing more than of lack of attention. So while the pictures could stand being redone, the exterior itself wasn't all that shabby once the season changed. Virtual curb appeal is worse than real world curb appeal, in this case.

As far as new pictures, these are done not by our realtor but by a third-party company that provides the photography and the virtual tour hosting. We have requested that they come back and re-take the exterior photos. They will do so, but are going to return when they are already in the area, rather than make a schedule a special trip.

Regarding lowering the price, this is scheduled for this week. My agents suggested waiting until then since last week a fair number of agents here were away on vacation after Easter and activity in general was a little slow. (If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, did it really make a sound?) They felt that there was a better chance of being noticed by agents if it were done this week along with some agent notification marketing.

Sounds like a plan.

A smart move.

He priced the condo $299,950.00. (You can lead a horse to water...)

I guess RealEstateClient did not understand what I was trying to DRILL in his head about the importance of pricing at $300,000.00 even. If you go to Realtor.com or REMAX.com or your local IDX on any agents website your search options are 275-300K or you could search 300-325K. We are now in the internet age and all of you agents that price $299,900 or $299,880, or $299,950 are losing the high end of your market.

You also don't show up on the radar of buyers searching 300-325 for a condo. All those condos priced $299 are missing these potential buyers doing their searches on the internet.

Priced at $300,000 even, makes that property the most expensive in a search of 275-300K. Buyers will compare your listing to all of the less expensive listings. If there is a condo priced cheaper and it has similar, close to equal, or superior features and qualities than the higher priced property it will actually help sell the lower priced property with all things considered or close to equal. On the other hand, priced at $300,000 even, for those searching higher 300-325 now suddenly, yours is priced the lowest in that search and all things considered equal or close, then yours will sell and the higher priced condo will help sell yours. You also double your potential buyer base that is made aware of the property through the search engines!

Years ago before my time, the real estate gurus, taught that strategy in seminars. The thinking was if you priced the home say $299,880 your listing would stand out in the mls book and be listed first over the 90% of the agents that priced it $299,900. In this case I guess $299,950 stands out from the 90% of the agents that still price home like they did pre-Internet. So his listing stands out because it is higher priced. We no longer use a printed book, it is all searched on the Internet. and your starting and/or choices are 275+ or 300+ or 325+ etc.

There is also truth to the fact that 250, 300, 350, 400K properties have a psychological barrier in that a buyer does not want to pay over say, 300 or 400K. The key statement is OVER $300. Buyers are aware that $299,950. A ($50) FIFTY DOLLAR DIFFERENCE is really $300K. If you are still convinced that $299,900 or $299,950 sounds so much better than $300,000 then advertise it at $299,950. Be smart and list it for $300,000 so it is in the search engines correctly that over 80 of potential buyers look. You can even write it up in the listing agreement that you are pricing it at $300K but advertising in print for $299K.

Do any agents disagree? What are your arguments for not pricing in even amounts?

He priced the condo $299,950.00. (You can lead a horse to water...) That phrase in this case should read: (You can lead a "donkey" to water, but you can't make him drink.)

I send the WOW with an additional WOW an additional cup of decaf and sincerely thank you for the sage advice. ESF

As to the ongoing commments by "Cool Cat":

Oh, I understood the point you made. It was neither so profound nor so complicated as to be hard to comprehend. So why did I not take your advice and price it at $300,000 even?

My real estate agents did not agree with you. They believe that the price point under $300k (in this case $299,950) offers marketing and psychological advantages that outweigh the possible benefit that you have harped on. I did ask them for their thoughts and observations about it and they just think you're wrong.

And you see, they are my advisors in this matter. They are my realtors. You are not. So while your point was considered, it was decided against. You aren't my agent. Nor for that matter, given your propensity to rudeness, can I imagine that you would be even if you and I happened to reside and do business in the same community. While I guess you must find some clients from time to time, and that some of them may even tolerate your approach, your ill-disguised and evidently seething lack of respect for your clients wouldn't fly with me and I would fire you.

As cases in point I simply refer observers back to my previous post regarding your manners. Not to mention the most recent one in which you refer to me as a donkey for not agreeing with your opinion and instead trusting the advice of agents with whom I am working and who I know have a track record of success. Aside from your reasonably interesting suggestions, a caseload of bad manners, and a inexplicably surly attitude I know nothing about you and what degree of success, if any, you have had in the real estate business. How foolish of me, huh? To trust the advice of proven high level producers in the business with whom I have already successfully conducted real estate transactions over that of someone who may well be a washout for all I know.

You seem dismayed that I did not take your advice on pricing. Well, it seems you didn't feel inclined to accept my suggestions to you regarding your lack of courtesy and professionalism. So I guess that makes us even.

Were I inclined to respond to your insults with pejoratives of my own, I might note that there is a synonym for donkey that comes to mind and which seems apropos. But that wouldn't be too Cool, now would it Mr. Cat?

For those agents that believe the price point should be under $300k (In this case $50.00 under) to offer marketing and psychological advantages, I suggest this: Advertise the property in print, direct mail, radio, tv, 800 recorded messages, flyers (brochures), billboards, banners from airplanes, posters, bumper stickers, back of business cards, bench advertising, table tents, and word of mouth, as being listed at ONLY $299,950. In the Internet, where 80% of the potential buyers go online looking for properties, list it at $300,000 even.

I am sure that other agents on this forum feel that I am wrong as well, concerning the price point. Our trainer at RE/MAX, whom I adore, strongly believes in pricing at $299,900. She has been in the business for 20+ years.

I'm curious, how many agents see the logic and possible benefits of pricing it at $300k even to expose the property to a wider range of potential buyers on the Internet?

What are everyone else's thoughts on price point?

Rob,

First of all, I'm sorry if my noggin-thumping or raspberries really showed a lack of courtesy and professionalism. There is no excuse for my disparaging remarks. My intention was to offer any thought, suggestion, or bit of wisdom I might have, by helping you with "Ideas for boosting traffic/showings with your agents." Hence the name of this thread. It was not to belittle you in any way. For that impression, I am truly sorry.

I strongly believe, in this case of having the right price point, that I am right. I encourage you, to ask your agents to 'think outside the box" to get your house sold. You are right, it is in a way a numbers game. By pricing at $299,950 you might not be visible to the potential buyers looking above $300k which might result in the "right buyer" never seeing it. The answer to the best price in selling your condo was $299,950 - $309,950. Don't loose this important potential buyer. Remember at $300k your condo would be the lowest priced condo for those searching above $300k and you can always advertise price below if your agents feel that strongly. It is not too late to change price.

Once again, I am sorry if I tend to harp on this subject. I am wanting to be helpful and answer your question in a nutshell. "How do you generate some "buzz" and get people in?"

Good luck to you. I hope you sell right away and enjoy your new home.

John

I'm going to kick myself for jumping in on this one. Normally, I would not agree with Cool Cat because he is very obnoxious, disrespectful, and at many times doesn't make any sense. But as you can see with my previous posts in this thread, I do agree that the $300K price point is much smarter in this case as opposed to the psychological $299,950 price point.

RealEstateClient, you come onto this forum asking all of us for advice. You don't want to hear it. You want to tell us what is better. Then you want to tell us that your Realtors must know better than all of us. Let me ask you something. What was the point in coming onto this forum for advice in the first place? Just to tell us that your agents know better?

I am going to touch on this point for a second here. Let's say a buyer tells their agent that they want to buy a home priced no higher than $300K. A smart agent will usually search for homes priced up to ~$310K. Because many agents aren't that smart, many would just look up to $300K. Now let's say that another buyer tells their agent that they want to buy a home priced between $300K to $400K. A smart agent will usually search for homes priced between ~$290K to ~$410K. Again, because many agents aren't that smart, many would just look from $300K to $400K. The reason why the smart agents give a little bit of play room in their search price is because the other agents are the ones that are pricing it at those odd numbers ($299,900/$401,111). The smart agents know that it will open up the search a little bit, enough to catch any of the deals in that general price range. When the other agent searches, they will not catch all of the other agents' listings that are priced oddly because they don't give enough play room in the search price. My point is that most agents will totally miss these odd numbered, psychologically-priced listings. The price point numbers that are in the middle of criteria searches are the most commonly viewed listings. I would put money on it.

Plus those stupid numbers (ex. $299,999/$299,900/$299,950) don't trick the buyers! Buyers aren't that stupid. Most people look at the number $299,999 and think of it as $300,000 anyway!

I think I made my point very clear.

To Cool Cat John:

Olive branch accepted. And as I noted once before, in spite of our little spat here, I do appreciate your suggestions and let me say now that I recognize that you put quite a bit of and effort into responding to me.


To Agent 007 Len:

Wow, you surprised me a bit there when you said:

"RealEstateClient, you come onto this forum asking all of us for advice. You don't want to hear it. You want to tell us what is better. Then you want to tell us that your Realtors must know better than all of us. Let me ask you something. What was the point in coming onto this forum for advice in the first place? Just to tell us that your agents know better?"

I am confused as to how you arrived at that conclusion, given what I have actually said here in this forum and the fact that I have taken the suggestions – including the main one to lower the price – and have followed through on them. Here are a few of my comments:

"Thanks very much for all of the observations. I appreciate the insights."

"The majority of your answers felt that it was a price problem, and I realized going in that this might well be the ultimate conclusion."

"I believed (and still do to some degree, although I'm beginning to see the light) that it was just a matter of getting the right buyers inside"

"Again, I appreciate the suggestions. I like the direct mail/contact ideas (to medical professionals and neighbors) and will definitely pass those along to my agent team."

"Thanks again for all of the good insights. ... Looks like we're about at price-lowering time..."

"Thanks for the suggestions regarding the photos. ... I'll call the photo layout company that my realtor used and see if they can swing by and replace the exterior shots."

"I wondered about all the pictures of the stairs too. ... it does sort of play up what is a negative aspect to some people doesn't it? And ... multiple deck shots. I'll ask him to remove some of those."

"I fully understood what you were seeking to accomplish by re-creating my yard via Photo Shop. It was clear that you were simply trying to help me visualize how the appearance could be improved ... Thanks for your work on that and your suggestions."

"Good points all the way around regarding <the idea of doing an impromptu open house> … Given all of that … I suppose I'll leave off the open house idea."

"We have requested that they come back and re-take the exterior photos."

"Regarding lowering the price, this is scheduled for this week."

And finally in a response even to Cool Cat, with whom I was having a disagreement, I said:

"At any rate, all of that aside, I do thank you for the factual suggestions you made regarding pricing, signage, key contacts, and so forth. Point well taken on the majority of them. I certainly learned from you as regards real estate."

So Len, please provide any specific examples wherein I chose to outright disregard suggestions by you or other professionals here.

The only instance I can note is the decision to use the $299,950 instead of $300,000. In that case I did state that my agents thought that Cool Cat was wrong. I mentioned this in response to Cool Cat’s disparaging remarks regarding the decision, and I did so simply to answer him as to why I did not follow that one particular piece of advice.

My comments in praise of my agents simply made it understood that I wasn’t downgrading their overall efforts or professional judgment. I believe I made it clear at the outset of this discussion thread that I was looking for professional suggestions that I might share with them that could augment their ongoing efforts - not to automatically override them. Obviously I have confidence in my realtors – why else would I be utilizing them? Wouldn't you hope that your clients would respond in the same way?

So once again Len, given that I accepted the advice to:

-- Lower the price
-- Change the pictures
-- Spiff up the landscaping
-- Market directly via mail to medical people
-- Do a mailing to neighbors
-- Not do a self-hosted open house

and only elected not to follow one of the suggestions:

-- $299,950 vs. $300,000

what exactly led you to this conclusion:
“You don't want to hear it. You want to tell us what is better. Then you want to tell us that your Realtors must know better than all of us”?

It just seems like you are telling us that your Realtors are the professionals in this matter and for all you know, we could be a bunch of bums. Yet you came to us for advice. I am not saying you didn't accept any of our advice, because it sounds like you did.

You also asked me if I would hope that my clients would be like this or something. I would be somewhat furious if my clients were getting second opinions on everything I was doing for them. I don't think going behind the professional's back and getting advice from others in the same field, then coming back to the professional trying to convince him to do things this way is very helpful at all. It would definitely make me feel like my client didn't trust me. I would feel like they are trying to micomanage me. That's just my opinion though.

RealEstateClient, after posting my previous post, did that pricing strategy make better sense to you?

The above statements that you reference ("they are my advisors" "track record of success" "you could be a washout", etc.) were directed specifically to Cool Cat - who was berating me for not having priced the property according to his suggestion. The comments were not directed at you or others in the forum. If you read his various posts to me in which he spoke condescendingly and the one wherein he ultimately called me a donkey for electing not to follow this one single suggestion, you will understand why I chose to stress the need to continue trusting my own agents rather than him - about whom I know very little - when they did not agree with his viewpoint.

As to whether you would like to have your clients seeking additional input and opinions and your feeling that you wouldn be furious if they were doing so, that really wasn't the question. What I asked was, would you not prefer that if your client did come to you with an idea or a suggestion that they then ultimately trust you if you disagree with the suggestion. While I do understand your feeling that you wouldn't like them coming to you and micromanaging, my search for insight and additional outside suggestions is not an issue that you or anyone else ever raised actually. Many helpful suggestions were given - yours included - with the suggestion that these be implemented. But I can't very well implement them without my agents.

We may just have a difference of approaches and opinion on that particular matter (the seeking of 2nd opinions and suggestions.) But really, once I broach a thought or suggestion to them - the 299,950 vs. 300,000 issue for example - and they provide their opinion, wouldn't that be the worst form of micromanaging for me to continue bringing it up to them or even insisting that they make that change? So on the one hand I'm being told I shouldn't ask others for suggestions, and on the other I'm being told that I need to jam my and/or your suggestions down my agents' throats.
Rather a Catch-22 it seems.

My agents were quite receptive to some of the suggestions - as I have noted. But on this point they did not feel it advisable to proceed as you and Cool Cat suggested and my decision as to how to respond was at that point an obvious one.

Reiterating a key point of this discussion though, my comments were not directed to this forum group in general, but rather were specifically directed to one individual who spoke insultingly when his suggestions were not followed. It was, at that point, necessary to explain why I chose the counsel of my own realtors - on that one point at least - rather than his.

I do believe that my acceptance of numerous suggestions given here - as contrasted with the one that was not followed - pretty clearly demonstrate whether I was dismissive of the help that was offered by the various agents who posted.

You ask whether your additional post regarding the pricing strategy made more sense to me now. It is not that I didn't understand it in the previous times it was suggested. I did. So it was not a matter of not grasping the concept, but rather a decision based on the factors discussed above.

It looks like this seller and his real estate agent team have everything under control. Short of the nuclear reactor kept in the basement showing up during inspections once an offer is made. If for someone reason the condo does not sell right away at $299,950 then the advisors need to adjust their marketing (PRICE) to get it sold or hire that stripper. Our work seems to be done.

Instead of starting a brand new thread on price point subject, I am curious, what are everyone else's thoughts on the subject. Is $249,000, $249,500, $249,888, $249,900, $249,950, $249,999, or $250,000 a better price point. My top two choices would have to be $250,000 and $249,000. What are everyone else's view on this subject?

Along the same lines, how many agents feel that you should price a house based on SOLD comps that are similar to the subject property (I.E. two stories to two stories, ranches to ranches, equivalent square footage, and approx same age, location etc.) like what an appraiser would do and break it down price per square foot and make your adjustments? Or, do you feel that you should price a house based on ACTIVE comps and say what would $250,000 buy and compare the subject home to new construction, homes built in the 70's or 1912 and a one story or a bi-level etc. In other words, compare strictly on price and what is currently on the market. (The Competition) What are everyone's view on this subject?

As I already stated in this thread, I believe that pricing at certain price points is much more important than what the number looks like. $249,888 looks great and catches your eye, but that's not what we try and do anymore. We try and get the majority of buyers to even pull up the property first. Then we can create things to catch their eye.

Regarding my pricing strategy using similar comps in the area...

I usually use the sold comps if there are some recent ones to go off of. If there aren't many recent solds, then I will go into the active listings and formulate my list price suggestion from those. I always try and put the seller in the buyer's shoes and the appraiser's shoes. I make sure they are well aware of how an appraisal will turn out. This makes pricing a little easier.

You must think appraised value is fixed to the past. Sold comps are only used as a reference. Tomorrow's value can be higher or lower than yesterday. If you are pricing a house based on yesterday's price how on earth can you move up to tomorrow's price?

Let's assume that A is tomorrow and B is today and C is yesterday's value. If you are pricing B as C then A is same as B and A same as C. House value will never go up or down ever.

IN a fast moving market I'd go with the actives..in a slow market I'd go with past comps.

realting, no I don't think appraised values are fixed to the past. I never said that. Appraised values are only opinions from the appraiser. It is not an exact science. But the past comp(solds) have much to do with the new values. Obviously if appraiser only stayed with the same value as the sold comps, then the market values wouldn't move.

Sold comps are good to use if you formulate an increase or decrease in value for the current market and property conditions. Active listings are good too in order to be the lowest listed on the market, but I think many active listings are very unreasonably priced by sellers. Therefore, active listings can be way off from true value. So I believe that using solds with a formula or theory is much better than using active listings.

Try not accusing me of thinking something so stupid either. It is just obvious that values wouldn't move if sold numbers were all that mattered without market conditions. You just interpreted what I said wrong.

You people spent a week comparing/debating whether to use price points ending in .99 or whole numbers. Obviously it's clear that the initial impression is vital in any sale. In the newspaper and print days, the first impression was the price points. In the internet era, the initial point the price point is second to the searching point. People have to search you first before your price shows up. My staff has developed a formula of sort that makees sure our listings show up first everytime. Look to gooogle and yahoo for the answers.

Buyers are comparing and shopping houses on the market right now. Whether they decide to SEE your house or not is caused by what is on the market right now. I can assure you that people are not printing houses that match what they want and comparing to ones that sold four months ago.

They are looking and comparing what's out there right now.



Well you're 90% corect but 90% correct is not good enough. What you left out is the driving force of tomorrow's market values and that is the buyers. The buyers will make adjustments to market values or conditions...or as you put it formulas or theories. The buyers will apply their own formula or theories. But before they can make those corrections they will need to step into your house. Getting people to step into the house is the tough part.

Again, let's get back to A B and C. If A is same as C then the next A will be same as C and the next A will be same as C again and again and agian.

I would argue that the "formula" or theory that you need is the actives.

On the charge that actives are unreasonably high, I would say that that's why pricing it according to the competition works. If buyers are looking at 20 active listings in front of them, I ASSURE YOU THEY'RE NOT BASING A SHOWING REQUEST BASED ON WHAT TOOK PLACE LAST MONTH.

I'm not calling you stupid but you have to know the difference between pricing to get showings and pricing to get sold.

You can't sell a house without first getting the showings. Showing prices use actives as the reference point.

Offer prices use past comps as reference.

Let's assume the worst case scenario and all the agents in your area are idiots that price homes too high. So by your example, are you saying that buyers are not going to request showings because they are all priced too high?

I contend that showing requests are based on actives and offers are based on sold comps. The buyers apply their own theories as to increase or decrease from the point of reference.

My three cents.

1. I agree wholeheartedly with the $300,000 concept versus $299,999. Not only because of the Internet search factors, but also because zero's are smaller numbers than nine's. When I price homes, I try to use small numbers as much as I can instead of big numbers like 9's and 8's.

2. I price using both the current competition and the recent sales, giving more weight to the current competition (depending on the market).

3. The buyer for a two story house is different from the buyer for a ranch home with a basement. Therefore, I would not give much weight to sold comps that weren't a similar floorplan.

4. Likewise, the buyer for a 1928 Bungalow is a different buyer from a buyer for a 1950's ranch, who is different from the buyer for a 1999 tract home. I would never, ever price these types of homes against each other.

Real Estate Client,

I know that you understood the rationale given by coolcat on the pricing. When you presented that to your selling team, what was their rationale for rejecting that strategy?

If I missed that in this thread forgive me.

BTW, I do agree with the strategy to make certain that you end up on more searches. Since your original issue is lack of offers, why take a pricing strategy that would reduce your exposure?

If their strategy has a basis I would like to know what it is.

I know that you have now changed the price, however I do think you were resistant to do so. But your resistance has opened my eyes to sellers views about pricing even in the light of irrefutable evidence.

Sellers certainly realize the market has cooled and in some ways lament being in a position to have to sell now in this cooled market; espcially because it was not too long ago that the house down the street sold in 11 days at $10k more and it was a lot less tricked out. Some are probably kicking themselves because they delayed selling for various reasons.

If many of them had their druthers, they would hold out until the market turned around but they can't, so instead they try to compensate with too high pricing hoping for a miracle and some are truly convinced that THEIR home is special. When you discuss price reductions they are resistant for the same reasions.

Good luck.

I could not have said it better.

Condo is still priced at $299,950. Have there been any offers? Have they come out to take new pictures yet?

Market update July 15: Still priced $299,950 & No New Pictures.

Market update Aug. 3: The price is still $299,950.00. He does have a new picture. The grass is greener, however he is not helping his agents out.

Hmmm. Interesting. Well, the curb appeal has been helped a little by Mother Nature, at least.

Market update Aug. 15: Still priced $299,950
It does have a new picture.

My original post dated 4/7/2007 was written the day after his equally long winded post and was based on his assumptions and statements, that I took for facts.



I have come to the conclusion, that I was off by 50K. I should have said "One thing will happen regardless of what your agents do or not do. It will either sell right away at $250K or it won't. If it does not sell at $250K then you need to adjust your marketing (PRICE) to get it sold."

I do not know the market in Roanoke or the appreciation on condos in the last few years. I do not have access to the local mls in Roanoke Virginia, so I can't say what I would have originally priced this piece of property. I took RealEstateClient's word that the agents did some serious "figuring and head-scratching". I looked on Realtor.com and noticed the lack of high end (300K) condo's for sale in Roanoke, so I decided to check out the assessor for some insight.

July 30, 1998 this condo sold for $130,000. Almost six and half years later the condo appreciated and sold for $179,950. (an increase of almost 50K in over 72 months) to Myra C. on November 8, 2004. Now Myra only held this property for LESS than a year and a half and Sold it March 15, 2006 to our buddy Rob F. for $212,000 . (an increase of over $32K in 16 months) To recap, for a period of 6.5 years this condo appreciated almost $695 a month.. Then all of a sudden for the next year and a half it appreciated $2000. a month. WOW!

Now Rob decided to sell this condo for $319,950 less than a year of owning this home that he thought they would live in for 20 to 30 years. If you do the math that's $107,950 MORE in just eleven short months. To recap, for a period of 11 months they were hoping it had appreciated $9813.64 a month. WOW! That is maybe a little "greedy and optimistic" considering to quote RealEstateClient "The market here: a little sluggish, but not awful. A bit more inventory than normal, listings taking longer to sell, prices fairly steady."

It will be interesting to see as the listing ends its sixth month, what will happen. Will the same agents re-list it? Will a new agent get it and price it to sell at $225,000 or will our brothers on the BPO, REO, Foreclosures side be writing about this property.

To recap, One thing will happen regardless of what your agents do or not do. It will either sell right away at $250K or it won't. If it does not sell at $250K then you need to adjust your marketing (PRICE) to get it sold!

Are you following up with potential buyers who have come through your home? They can probably give you the best advice such as there was an odor, it was dark and dingey, priced too high, bad paint colors for them, etc. There are companies out there that do nothing but stage homes for sale. It might be worth the investment.

This is odd. I thought I sent a reply.

Cool Cat, I am impressed at your homework - you know how to research!