“When the Going gets Tough!”….Today’s Sellers on the Kitsap Peninsula WA
October 30th, 2007 by Rich Jacobson
These are challenging days for Sellers, not only here on the Kitsap Peninsula, but in housing markets throughout the country. Inventory levels of available homes are at an all-time high; many homes languish on the market for what seems like an eternity, with little or no activity; loan underwriters have tightened their purse strings, making it much more difficult for hopeful buyers to qualify; global uncertainties, from the war in Iraq, to the price of crude oil, has consumer confidence faltering, keeping many potential buyers sitting on the fence.
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There is a wide spectrum of Sellers out there:
- The ‘Late Show’ Seller – this one is lost in a time warp and still thinks it’s a brisk Seller’s Market. Their listing price is over a year old and about 25% too high.
- The ‘Upside Down’ Seller – their adjustable rate mortgage just went throught the roof, and they owe more than the house is currently worth. Surely someone will pay more than what they need to net?
- The ‘Perceived Value’ Seller – “Our house is the nicest house in the development. We’ve invested a lot of money into improvements over the years, and we think it should sell for a lot more than what other homes are selling for.”
- The ‘Robbing-Peter-to-pay-Paul’ Seller – this Seller has an offer on another house and has to sell their current home for ‘X’ amount of dollars in order to make the new purchase work.
- The ‘Testing-the-Water’ Seller - “We don’t HAVE to move, but let’s price it really high and just see what happens.”
Tough market conditions call for equally Tough questions:
- Why are you selling your house? What is your motivation? Do you HAVE to move right now?
- When your Listing Agent conducted their market analysis, what price range did they determine/advise? How does that price compare with what your house is listed for now? What counsel does your Agent have for pricing today?
- How long can you afford to NOT sell your house?
- What ’other’ viable options are there to selling? A Lease/Purchase agreement? Conversion to a rental?
They say that there are only 3 reasons why a house doesn’t sell:
- The house is overpriced.
- There is some obvious, glaring material defect with the house that screams out, “Don’t Buy Me!”
- Your Listing Agent has fallen asleep at the marketing wheel.
These are the only reasons. If your house has been on the market for any length of time, without any activity, showings, or offers, it’s has to be one of these three.
There are 3 things that determine how quickly and successfully a house will sell:
- Location
- Condtion
- Price
Of these 3 things, you, as a Seller, can control 2 of them. You can work to improve the condition of the property – the curb appeal, how well it shows; and you can determine the asking or listing price.
A great resource for Home Sellers is “Preparing Your Home to Sell: How to Increase Your Home’s Sales Appeal“ by David Knox. I have several copies of this DVD available for loan, or go to www.davidknox.com
Even though the market has slowed, there are still Buyers out there who are moving to our area. Hopefully, asking yourself some of these tough questions will enable you to more aggressively market & sell your home, helping you to “Achieve the Next Adventure in Life!”
![A classic Port Gamble "painted lady"](http://soundbiteblog.com/wp-content/gallery/port-gamble/port-gamble-013.jpg "A classic Port Gamble "painted lady"")
Sparky – Good article. In May I tried to get a seller to price his home at $189,000. Brought a dozen Realtors in who repeated the same. He insisted on $206,000. By the time he responded, the prices dropped to under $180,0000. It showed like a model. No buyers ever looked at it. His greed prevented buyers from even looking. He is now renting the home. So, seller beware, cut your losses while you can.
Asking “do you have to sell right now” is interesting too. It is a very odd question for an agent to ask a seller normally. Howver, if there is no real urgency, the seller could wait for a better time. And if you are doing a good job for them, and asking them some of these tough questions, they will come back to you when their time is right
Kristal – “cutting our losses early”….now there’s a more realistic approach in our market nowadays. Unfortunately, too many times it’s been one of hindsight, rather than foresight!
Your comment about asking your seller, “How long can you afford NOT to sell your home?” really strikes a chord with me. So many times we forget to look at the alternative. Sometimes it’s better to cut your losses early in the game. That may be the win the seller is looking for.
kk