Not sure why anyone who is not in need of selling right now would sell in this market? But I agree that the house is probably overpriced for this market. There are a lot of houses on the market right now and all of this when folks are squeamish about which direction housing is going. I would have a sit down with the agent and hash it out.

It sounds as if your REALTOR has been doing their job. Understand REALTORS are hired to Market and Expose your home to potential buyers. If your home has been sitting this long I would agree with the posts that stated your price is way too high. REALTORS cannot change the market.

There are times when changing REALTORS does bring about a change in energy and response. On the other hand I have seen homes on the market for months to a year or so that have changed REALTORS and their home is still sitting for sale.

What is your motivation for selling? Job transfer, retiring, need bigger or smaller space?
What I have found speaking with several sellers within the past weeks is that they keep going back to what sold in January or March or even the summer and have not been able to grasp today's market value.

Is there a lot of short sales or foreclosures in your immediate area? This will play havoc with the market price of your home. Could be the location? Are you located near the refineries or is your home shielded from the refinery view?

Understand with the inventory available and the prices dropping in many areas, buyers are definitely taking their time and picking and choosing carefully where they want to homestead.

If there is no urgency in selling your home then I would rethink having it on the market today.

If you must sell your home, then the reality is you need to reconsider what is happening in the market and price your home accordingly and/or offering incentives to attract buyers curiosity.

Do you have to sell your house right now? This is not the time to test the market...definitely price your home aggressively, or take it off the market all together and don't waste your efforts.

Difficult market and difficult decisions--
1. Sounds like maybe a fresh staging may be needed. My wife works with me and has helped me sell many homes that were very difficult situations before she arrived. No extra charge.
2. You may drop the asking price one time before you take it off the market-- and be sure to get it back on the market by early Feb-- not march or april.
3. Do you know the price/square foot of the comps around you? It still may be necessary to drop the price one more time.
4. Does your agent have the house on 5-6 unique websites? Have they flyered the neighborhood three times? Have they emailed to 2000-4000 other agents with your listing? Have they contacted nearby church groups, schools, businesses-- there really are lots of things to do that probably have not been done.

call me when appropriate-- i will get it sold.
douglas moore, alain pinel realtors, walnut creek, ca 925 708 8988

How many other houses similar to yours are on the market? Look at the pending houses that are similar to yours - what are they selling for? Do you feel your Realtor has done a good job for you? If you are satisfied a new agent will benefit from the marketing the first has done. Look at the current state of the market how does your home compare price wise? Look at some open houses or have your agent show you your competition and then have a discussion with you agent about what you can do to stand out and be the next house that is sold.

Good luck!

Reduce your price to 5% below the average solds that are comparable to yours. Get your Realtor to run the comps report for you.

It sounds like what a buyer is willing to pay is not the same as you are willing to list it for.

Value to a buyer equals

More Features and Benefits than All The Others Homes At The Same Price

OR

The Same Features And Benefits As All The Other Homes For Less Price

You have to ask yourself why someone would pay you what you are asking, obviously they are not willing.
So you have owned the home for 29 years. I am assuming it is worth more than you paid, I pray it is worth more than you owe.

So the question is, will the amount you net from what a buyer is willing to pay (not what you think it is worth) enough to get you to where you want to go?

Unless your agent hid the home under a rock they are not the problem, other than getting to realize that no matter what you do an overpriced listing is not going to sell in this market.

What mortgage mess? Qualified buyers can get a loan all day. The so called mortgage mess, if you mean we cannot get people without any money no assets and no employment verification a loan. Is that the mess you are talking about?

It sounds like you are looking for someone or something to blame instead of taking responsibility for overpricing the property.

The market price is no one’s fault, it just is.

Pjjo, Your description of the market as a mess is a good observation. I agree with you. I also agree with Keith and RealtyExec. With over 12 months of inventory on the market you have to be in the lowest 10% of competing homes to even get an offer these days, unless you are selling a bank repo.

That means pricing your home as Keith reccommended by as much as 5% below what your Realtor says it is worth. If that is too painful for you to do, experts predict the turnaround to begin in about 6 months, but take another year or three to make up for for the losses of 2006.and 2007.

I think keith says it great. Some agents dont even generate that much traffic. Your realtor atleast has done a great job on that aspect, but the Realtor has also maybe not been hard on you enough to face the fact that the price probably is overpriced. I cant speak on the Realtors actions, because i dont know if he did ask you to reduce the price. But in all honesty it is better to make the decision now while your already committed to give it a chance to sell. Lowering the price to beat the actual other properties in the area is probably your last chance. Most people dont like to leave money on the table, but fail to understand that it was never there in the first place.

That being said, i dont see Martinez as being a hot type of market any time soon. Even with the Mortgage mess, who knows who long it will take to fix. If you can change your plans to sell, and the financial loss if you sell lower is too much. Then, you will have to wait it out. But if you have room give it a chance to sell by lowering the price. And i wouldnt be too hard on the Realtor if you have had positive response in showing it, some agents are good at different things. He might just not be good at letting you know its time to drop the price.

Pijo
I do not want my post to sound as though I am disagreeing with what has been posted, nor being negative. I'd like to think that I am positive overall, and a realist. In other words, I don't like to mislead people.

In many cases the Realtor that you hire is not really the blame. Any home will sell for the right price. The problem is that most of us avoid confrontation. It's painful. So this is sort of the "bare bones" post...I have to go carve a pumpkin!

1. The "average market time of 52 days" is not what you want. How many homes like yours have sold in the time yours has been on the market. They probably sold for less than your listing price, in shorter time. Why? Because buyers are looking for value.
2. Time is NOT your friend. If the market is flat or trending downward, you'd need to really convince me that you home will be worth more in the future (i.e. the next two years). I vote for cutting the price and selling it now.
3. If the market is going down, you need to be at least 5% BELOW your current active listings. Maybe you can get two buyers to bid for your home a get a little bit more.

discuss your concerns with your Realtor, and if needed, their broker.

Best of luck to you!

Hi Pjjo,

Sounds like you have had no lack of Agents and potential Buyers viewing your property and the feedback has been positive on how it shows. What has been the feedback on price? I

t appears your Agent is doing their job by getting people through your house, however, today's Buyers are sophisitcated. My guess is it's overpriced and could stand a "price improvement".

If you don't have to sell, then wait out the mortgage mess. If you want or need to sell, then keep your current Agent and reduce the price!

Good Luck!

Kerry Davies
Victoria, BC
Canada

You might want to rethink your selling price and make an adjustment. A lot of the time pricing your house right will get your house sold faster. Also, have your agent run another CMA (Comparable Market Analysis) before you reduce your price so you can see what your neighborhood market looks like. It is better to reduce a little and get some offers than to be too stiff and not get any offers.

Hi Pjjo:

Let me ask you this: You say you have lived in your home for 29 years, but that it "shows well". By "shows well", does this mean the house is well-maintained, but still in its original condition? Have you updated it at all in the 29 years you have lived there? If so, how long ago?

I ask because a house can "show well", be clean, decluttered, and well-kept, but if it's old, it's old. And if there are newer, more updated homes in your area, yours will be compared to those.

If this is the case, it's crucial that it is priced accordingly.

I don't know your market, but if we are going by what Pam is telling you below - that well-priced houses are selling in 53 days - I wonder if this is taking into account the updated houses vs. the older homes.

Again, I don't know your area, but perhaps you should have your Realtor do a search of the recent COMPARABLE home sales and find out the average market time for those, as well as price.

Perhaps homes in your area ARE selling in 53 days, but perhaps your home, due to its age and general 'feel', is in a different average market time.

There are also considerations that perhaps you have grown accustom to due to the length of time you have lived in your home, but that might negatively affect the impressions of buyers:

Layout
Location (on or close to a busy street)
Small room sizes
Exposure (not enough light)

These are things important to buyers that are difficult to change. Again, these can only be addressed with price.

As for whether or not you should switch agents.... by what you say, it appears your agent is doing her job to attract traffic. What does your agent say about your home and its current market time? Does she have suggestions you have not taken? Has she indicated you should lower the price?

Fresh perspective can sometimes be a good thing, but not if you are not willing to listen (and I'm not saying you aren't listening; I'm merely pointing out that switching agents is pointless if your agent is telling you things about the market you are not willing to hear).

Pjjo....

I am a broker in Contra Costa County and here are some of the statistics on the homes for sale in Martinez. There are currently 198 single family homes for sale in Martinez. The existing time on the market is 53 days. At the present inventory it would take approximately 12.6 months to clear out the existing homes if not more were listed.

A property priced and marketed home should sell within those 53 days. What kind of internet presence does your home have? Have there been any price reductions?

If you unhappy about your results, I would suggest interviewing three Realtors who are full time and see how they will market your home and their track record.