With all the never ending debate on pricing a home to sell, I personally think that while it is a very important aspect of the sale, some seem to argue that it is the ONLY thing that matters.

Pricing can be pretty easy while working in a neighborhood that was built all about the same time, about the same size, same architecture, etc. But working in neighborhoods with a huge variety of everything, or rural homes, or very unique homes can be a very different animal!

Small towns are another example of the pricing problem. Never enough sales of a particular "type" of home to get a real formula for accuracy.

I think only experience can help overcome the pricing delemma. Reducing the price at a pre-arranged time may accomplish nothing except a long sale at a lower price. I have seen (and you probably have too) those rural and unique properties stay on the market a LONG time, and still sell for full, or close to full price.

The point is that every situation is different, so why do the trainers teach to handle them all the same?

As a licensed Real Estate agent and a professional, sometimes you have to know your limits.

When dealing with a seller: I don't have enough current comps to pinpoint a price. Here is my range, feel free to consult with another agent, or get a full appraisel.

When Dealing with a BPO: I will give a range and stronly suggest that a appraisel be ordered.

I agree with you. Trainers teach you never give up, price the property, secure the listing at all costs, and don't forget to buy my DVD for 19.99 at the back of the room for the rest of the secrets. The only problem is, It is my license and my reputation on the line. A cookie cutter systom to somebody with no knowledge sounds easy.

Great posts!

Yes pricing a property can be difficult at times. Many times there are not good comparables sales and I do not always think there is a "cookie cutter" way to do so either.

We are seeing alot of REO inventory here in MN priced to really sell. And of course alot of short sales too!

Thank you both for your thoughts here

Sure, pricing unique homes can be difficult as there may be no homes that could be comparable, taking into account the replacement value might help in determining a starting point (although there are flaws, it can still help in knowing where to start).

I also live in a very diverse area. We have rural, cookie cutter subdivisions, high end neighborhoods, trailer parks, and multimillion dollar waterfront homes all within a very small area. I think pricing is very important. No matter how unique the homes is, it still is in competition with other homes. I show the sellers who their competition is, what people are actually BUYING, what they are NOT buying, and using that data, price it accordingly or walk away.

Pricing is especially challenging on REO properties that have extensive water damage or distress. Many times these types of properties are purposely under-priced to draw multiple offers. I've been apart of several of these multiple offer bid properties...sometimes with 25+ offers on them!

I SO agree with this post. I too have a "unique" property - very large old historic home and a lot that is MUCH larger than a typical intown lot,zoned for business or residential.

Website is http://www.962dauphin.com if you want to check it out.

Some people love the idea of living in a highly visible property (on a major st) and others want to be inside a neighborhood. 2 true comps have sold in the past 6-8 months - 1 to a couple who specifically wanted to be on that street to be next to family. The other is on our street and was on the market almost 400 days. Both sold at more per sf than ours, and both were comparable in quality, finishes, upkeep, etc. Ours has been on the market for around 300 days - we KNEW going into it that it would take a year or more because it is not a cookie cutter. But we've gotten into big disagreements with our agent who said that ours has been on so long that no one will come see it, it is getting stale, etc etc. We PAID for an appraisal out of pocket and listed at less, we keep in touch with the appraiser every month or so to see if market conditions demand a reappraisal, etc. We want to stay informed, and realistic, but it is never enough for our agent. The fact is that fewer than a dozen properties have sold in our price range since the spring, and that's not going to change anytime soon. I think we could drop the price another 25K and we're not going to get the traffic because NO ONE is looking in our price range in any part of the city now! We've dropped our price 80K total, and are now WAY less than the comps, our house shows beautifully and is well maintained, and gets very positive feedback from the lookie-loos who come to the open houses but ... no one is buying the big ones here in our town. Here, what is selling are the 150K and under properties. We know that. We're not that. But we're not going to take our property off the market because then we know for sure it won't sell! Right now there are only about 10 comps on the market - this is just a weird property type. Someone pulled into our driveway yesterday and walked around the property with their 3 kids (who loved that we have a pool). My husband offered to show them our house then and there but they said they didn't want to impose and they'd call our agent (thank god because I was in the shower). We're crossing our fingers that they really are interested - hubby said they acted like they loved it, and they spent a while viewing the lot and outside.

Pricing a home that is particularly unique is always a bit of a gambit. There is a lot of marketing theory that goes into it - basically it ultimately comes down to what price you think you can get. A great agent will be able to sell your property for much more than its worth on the basis of their selling abilities, marketing it to the right people and staging it among using other tricks of the trade.