Do-it-Yourself Price Reductions “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Approaching the holidays, many would-be home sellers are loath to take a price reduction, even if there’s abundant evidence that that’s overdue. Why? They know that — with fewer Buyers active —...Read More
“If a property is worth $250k and you ask $350k and reduce it to $325k, it’s not an indication of a problem in the market. It’s a problem with overpricing.” -Hall F. Willkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens; “Prices Drop for Luxury New York Real Estate”; The NYT (1/15/16). OK, I have a confession: I...Read More
Fewer Showings — But a Silver Lining, Too So far this Fall, the word amongst active listing agents (representing Sellers) is that showings are way down (that’s been my experience, too). If you want a benign explanation, blame it on the gorgeous Fall the Twin Cities has been enjoying thus far, keeping Buyers’ focus elsewhere...Read More
“Priced to Sell?” Not Always Notwithstanding many a listing agent’s assurance to the contrary, not every home is “priced to sell.” When that’s the case, a price reduction is eventually in order. The catch with Minnesota homes that list now and turn out to be overpriced? Four to six weeks into the listing — the...Read More
Liking the House . . . But Not the Price What do Buyers today do when they like a home — but not the price? (ditto for their agents). They save the search on MLS. That way, they immediately know if/when there’s a price reduction. See, “Who’s Watching the Listing?” “The Ayes Eyes Have It”...Read More
Realtor Rationalizations Why would a Realtor quote a would-be Seller an unrealistically high list price? Because the agent believes it’s the only way they’ll get hired. The practice — called “buying the listing” — virtually assures that the home will sit, ignored, while it accumulates market time, until eventually the agent broaches the subject of...Read More
