Having decided to list our house the old-fashioned way with a hard-working agent who will do the heavy lifting and negotiating for us, we set out to find an agent.
I interviewed several last year, but I left those meetings feeling like a disheartened Goldilocks- none of them felt like the right fit. And, of course, I had visions of selling the house without having to pay commission. Le sigh.
Listing on our own, we averaged one showing a week up until the winter holidays. I have no basis on which to judge the traffic, but I know we failed when it came to finding a buyer. We’ll do better with an agent, right?
Having kept track of who stopped in for showings, I reviewed this list of agents and started making calls. We met with three of them to assess their fit as our listing agent. They had already seen our place and obviously had buyers looking in our neighborhood. Last summer, I met with the agents alone. This time, hubs joined in. After all, we’re ready to move, literally and figuratively.
At each meeting, we asked the agents to look into their crystal balls and predict the year ahead in real estate. We pretty much heard the same thing, the same depressing news.
- Yes, houses are selling, but not for much; the market is still depressed.
- Yes, the tax credit is helping the market.
- No, we don’t know if the credit will be extended in 2010.
- No, you won’t get a better selling price if you wait out the market, unless you’re willing to wait several years.
- And by the way, there’s going to be a record number of foreclosures in 2010.
- Oh, and the commercial real estate market might crumble, too.
Oy.
We should have just sucked it up, signed on with an agent last year and sold the damn place. Truth is, we may have even gotten a teensy bit more money back then considering that there’s been three foreclosures on my block and goodness knows how many in my town.
But hindsight is 20/20. I know agents deal with clients like me all. the. time. The ones who have some grip on reality, yet a fairly strong sense of denial, or call if pride of ownership if you will.
As we toured the house with one agent, she remarked on the many updates and improvements we’ve made, few of which will actually factor into the sale price. By contrast, the previous owner did virtually nothing to improve the house, but had the good fortune to sell it during a rising market and as a result, made gobs of money.
Ah yes, timing is everything. Which is why we really want to seal the deal before the tax credit expires.
I know many agents read this blog. What do see when you look into your crystal ball?
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There is much more to selling a house than listing it on the MLS but the key factor is correct pricing. When a seller decides to sell it where it is worth what they are asking, it will sell. To enhance your selling, ask your agent what they do that is different than the competition. The MLS is a great selling tool but many homes are sold by real estate agents without ever having to be listed. An agent who is proactive, checks the demographics for the area and researches where buyers are coming from, who the neighbors know and knocks doors can be very effetive. Game plans need to be tailored to the neighborhood. Hopefully, you have been blessed with a sale. If not, give me a call for ideas. First, though, take a realistic look at your home and fix all those “so called minor repairs” and remember the LESS is MORE motto when staging your home. Storage units are wonderful selling tools. 972-880-7111.
Actually I agree with Rusty Davis for the most part; however, in the world of most real estate agents marketing is main key to getting a house sold. Let's face it the MLS is nothing more than a great big billboard to show off a property. That is the sole reason for it. In today's market to the more exposure you can provide a listing the more chance it (not you) will find a buyer to buy it. Twitter, facebook, linkedin, StumbleUpon and I can name hundreds more social sites that allow for marketing. So the days of old real estate cry of Location, Location, Location is now Exposure, Exposure,
Expopsure
Thanks. Fact is our town is tough sell right now. There are so many short sales and foreclosures and I know many first time buyer think price before value. No sale yet, but there is a whisper of an offer coming soon. It might leave my crying though!
Forget for a moment the technicalities of pricing and selling and ask yourself: Why do I want to make a lot of money on this sale?
This isn't an investment, right? You're selling this house so you can buy another. Which means if the market you're selling into is depressed, the market you're buying in is *also* depressed. Unless you're underwater, the only number you should care about is the difference between the sale price on your current house and the purchase price on the new one. That is the number that determines how much your payment will change.
Odds are, both prices are going to be lower, so there's a good chance the difference will be smaller too. Focusing on the sale price rather than the “upgrade cost” works for investors, but it's the exact last thing you want to consider when it comes to the house you live in.
A little to the north in Toronto the future looks much brighter. Mortgage lending practices in recent years.have been very different from the US. The big dip seems to have been avoided here.
Chrsitina, http://ChristinaCatana.com
Zillow proposed the fixed zestimate on all homes while Redfin proposed the commission rebate to attract attention and visitors to the website.
Excellent article. This is the most detailed information I've seen posted anywhere regarding real estates.
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Salt Lake City Realtor: Anya Ouchakova
14403 South Lapis Dr. Draper Utah 84020
801-252-6947
Yep, agree as well with Rusty Davis, great points you there as well.