Hello,

My house has been listed for 24 days (I know still a baby). We are trying to generate more agents through the house. Would giving a commission of 3.5% and a bonus of $2,500 if escrow closes before the end of July interest more agents into showing our house? We originally had the commission at 2.5%.

Brokers open is scheduled for 6/23 (they do it once a month here).

MLS # is R2032764

Thanks for any suggestions/input!

A you need to tell us what city and state you are in.

B Your agent should be working to get the word out not you

I am in Stevenson Ranch, CA 91381

I honestly like doing research especially if it helps sell my house faster

Points:

1.If you home is overpriced nothing else you do will matter so stop now.Even if a buyer would pay more than it's worth it has to appraise and most buyers won't pull cash out of there pocket to make up the difference.

2.Bonus by a certain date won't work,the agents know there is little chance of it closing by then.If you are going to offer the bonus do it with no strings attatched this way they know if they work hard to get your home sold they will get paid the money.

3.You are in california where overpricing has occured.What is market value today?Not what was the value when the market was hot 6 months ago.
Determine real market price and if you are selling to cash in you might be selling for the wrong reasons.

4.If the price is right and no repiars are needed.
1.Have the agent make 500 business cards with your house on it for you,him,and friends to pass out at socials.
2.set up a website just for your property
3.Have the agent send an e-mail blast out to all the agents in the area offering the new incentives.
4.Make sure in the description it talks about emotion.Do not do:4 bed,2 bath,garage,new roof

Good example:Nice warm weather for barbecueing in the backyard,beautifull sunsets,quiet and serene neighborhood,etc,etc,

People buy on emotion not the new garbage disposal that was put in.

good luck

Thanks for the suggestions super Realtor! My agents are going to do postcards with the incentives and send them out to the local agents. I think the 3.5% might be working because we just got 2 visits today.

I didn't think about the emotional aspect. I am a numbers and facts person, but I am finding out more through life I am not the typical person There actually was a listing that stated something like "such an emotional home" and I was wondering what the heck that meant..

Our house is actually the lowest priced house for the upgrades and square footage. There are 14 houses less than us, but most are older, 500-600 sf smaller and hardly any upgrades. They start at about 40k under. There are over 24 houses priced above ours (most 20k and beyond). A house on the next street sold for 1,044,000 a few weeks ago. Slightly larger and with a pool. Another a few houses away around the corner just went pending and was listed for 929k with a pool, but smaller and no upgrades besides wood/tile flooring on 1st floor (we have wood and tile flooring though out).

If your commission is normal for the area (and 3% is normal for your area), you should not need to do more.

What is going to generate the interest on your house is lowering the price.

There could be a pretty good laundry list of marketing things to talk about, but if your satisfied that your agent has been doing a good job for you, then price is really the only variable you can control that will get you a sale.

R

One other option is to rent the property out. If you need cash from it, then rent it and refinance it. Hold it to sell at at later date, possibly for more.

Just make sure the house is priced right and that the MLS listing is perfect: great photos, great description, everything accurate.

There is a lot more to selling a home then the MLS now a days.

What is the normal commision for selling real estate in USA?

What is the normal commision for selling real estate in USA?who pay the taxes for the solitor the buyer or the real estate agnecy?

There is no normal. Its what ever is negotiated out Again what ever is negotiated out . However there are some local customs different in every location.

So comp 1 would indicate a sale price of about $950,000 (Sale price minus adjustments for pool and square footage (I am assuming about 300 sqft)). Comp 2 indicates a sale price of $940,000 (929,000 list price x 95% + adjustment for square footage and floors).

So based on this data you will sell for somewhere around $945,000 and should be listed for $965,000.

What are you listed at?

We were listed at 899k but dropped it to 879k 2 weeks ago. We are the largest house listed in the area for the lowest price and have more upgrades inside than most. Could the lack of traffic be due to not having the brokers open yet? Out here they only schedule 1 area once a month. We couldn't get in at the end of last month, so although being on the market for 4 weeks now, we won't have the brokers open until this friday (5 weeks).

I thought offering the 3.5% would heelp get agents to show the house but we only had 3 visits this week (minus 2 from the open house yesterday).

We have someone that wants the house but they can only make an offer with contigency. We would be willing to do that but still be able to list the house with sellers 1st right of refusal, but I can understand why they wouldn't want to take the risk of losing out on appraisal and inspection fees if they can't sell their house before another buyer comes along.

Now there are 16 houses priced below ours and 30 above ours. The ones below ours are on average 400-500 sf smaller and older.

Thanks for all of the help so far. Would love to hear input on if the brokers open should help speed things up. We are offering desserts and a drawing.

How long is the average home in your area on the market? Low traffic either indicates an overpriced house, low interest in the area, or a house with little curb appeal. Since buyers are paying close to $1 million, they expect to be blown away!

I'm harping on the emotion issue because if you are indeed a facts and figures type of person, it might mean that you have a very functional, very rational, acceptable but boring! If the house is blah....people won't be excited about it. You might consider asking your agents how to "stage" it better.

Good luck!

Several years ago I used to do brokers opens. a lot and on vertually every listing. However over the last several years with video tours and the internet I have gotten a way from them. You might want to check on what internet marketing your agent is doing. The proof of that is you are on the internet asking questions so are buyers.

My first question is what is the overall average market time for a home of your value. In my area is about 180 to 300 days from list to contract. If that is so then there may not be anything wrong. Also have your agent pull listings from 1 year ago then 2 years ago, then 3 years ago and then only go back 6 months. Look at how you area is trending. Where I am we have had 20 to 46% yearly appreaciation till the last 6 months and now its down to almost zero and in Miami the reports are they are declineing about 25%. All in the last six months. I am not saying that is the case only that take a look. Also how are the homes in you area and price being marketing that are being sold. That is where evedently the buyers are. You can not market each and every home the exact way.

Sorry, trying to multi-task...What I was saying was that you might have a house that is boring. Staging really helps. There is a saying that its the "sizzle that sells". No sizzle, no sale. You are talking very rationally about square footage and age. But a charming house with less sq.ft., an older boiler, and older roof often outsells the boring house with up-to-date plumbing, heating, roof and central air etc.

We had a house listed in our area that had just been done up beautifully. All the moldings, the kitchen...EVEYTHING was picture perfect. People walked in and said "Ah...I'm HOME." Even in this soft market, it sold in a week...with a very frothy asking price. A house down the street was modernized with a new roof, new central air etc...the structural stuff was all done, but it was BORING..old wall paper, lots of toys and clutter, unimaginative decorating etc. Great house, HUGE potential but no bites. That house is STILL sitting.

I believe the average time is 85 days from listing to closing. I realize we are still in the mix and time wise everything is fine. Patience is something I need to work on .

Siberian, We picked the wrought iron railing and cherry cabinets and granite that were exactly like the model home.We have crown molding in every room and wood/tile through out. Several people have said our house is beautiful and they like the decor (since the photos were taken, I have packed pictures and books away).

I am sure it would sell if we had more traffic. I think it must be the area that is slow because I don't understand why some other houses haven't sold either. It does seem the ones that have almost all have pools (which we don't). I laugh with my husband that if we spent 30 grand on a pool we could get more money for the house it seems

Sounds like you've done everything right.

We are experiencing a very slow market where I am - and I am noticing a widening increase in days on market between houses that look fabulous and those that look tired - or are "bland" in style. Last year it almost didn't matter - a piece of junk would sell in 24 hours - it didn't matter that the creampuff next door sold in 12 hours!

Well it sounds like you are priced correctly. You don't have any negatives nearby do you? Power lines? Railroads? Visible commercial properties? Steep hill? No backyard?

The brokers open house is usually a waste of time. They usually attract all the agents who are 1) not busy and 2) want a free meal. Feeding cheap failing agents is not going to be of much use. A competent busy agent has absolutely no time for a brokers open house.

Make sure your agent is enhancing the listing on realtor.com so it comes up early in buyers searches. You have physically checked realtor.com and seen your listing, correct? Some agencies do not IDX and their listings never appear on realtor.com. Big negative. So just make sure it's showing up properly.

Beyind that, if it is truly a bargain and you are not leaving anything out, buyers simply WILL find you through their online searches. If they don't after a few more weeks, something is wrong.

Make sure your agent has distributed a full color brochure of your property to every agency in your market area. Also make sure your agent has sent a full color brochure to everyone in the neighborhood.

Separate discrete 3x4 ads in the local paper are a good idea. Frequent public open houses (not brokers) are also a good idea. A dedicated website is a good idea. Video tours (not virtual tours, actual video tours) are a good idea, if your agent knows how to do it.

No one knows which of these things will produce a buyer. That's why a good agent does all of them.