Buyers want value today - price and presentation. Not price alone.

How does it look online and in person? What does your property say to buyers?
- nice
- same as the others
- or , wow , we need to put an offer on this property - it looks like home.

Have you considered having a home staging consultation to finfd out what buyers think?
Over 85% of buyers search online before visiting a listing, does your's stand out in the online photographs?

Thu Jun 19 2008, 17:37

Ivy,

The shortest advice I can give you is to hire a professional to help you sell your house. This is not a market for amateurs or people who do real estate part time or as a hobby. Even for those of us who do this 24/7 it is difficult.

Sales is much like fishing - it does not matter how hard you try, you will not catch a 100 lb sailfish in a lake. If you want to catch a sailfish in this area, you have to go out in the gulfstream and you're going to have to be deep. The FLYER is a good publication to bring you curious people to your house - but not necessarily buyers. I am going to give you the agent's secret for finding buyers.

Our secret is other agents. The majority of sales for Realtors come from other Realtors. Smart agents primarily market to the public to get listings. When we want to get buyers we market to other Realtors.

We are constantly getting buyers contacting our personal websites, company websites, secondary referral websites, newspaper ads, magazines, etc. Our company spends millions of dollars to attract those few buyers who are looking.

The first thing we do when those buyers contact our companies is to find out how much they can afford to buy by getting them pre-approved for financing. Then we look for properties that meet their budgets. The people you attract through the FLYER and other local publications, while curious, may not be able to buy as you have already found out.

If your house is your most valuable asset, you probably should seek professional help to sell it. A good agent generally sells at a higher price than the average owner covering his/her own commission. As you have already found out, selling a house is not like selling a car or other small commodity. Particularly in this market, selling a house takes professional knowhow and dedication. I will be happy to assist you.

Wed May 7 2008, 03:50

Ivy,

I understand your frustration. My name is Angel Barroso, I'm a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate in Coral Gables. If you are thinking of hiring a professional to sell your home, we would like to show you what we do in a buyers market to net you the most for your property. Have you had a professional CMA done on your property? If not, please contact me today and I will conduct a professional Comparable Market Analysis on your home at no cost to you. I will also prepare a marketing plan that will get your home sold in the time you want and at the same time protect your most valuable asset. Have you noticed that For Sale By Owner signs are disappearing? Sellers are beginning to realized that they need us. This is not the time to test the market. We must act fast if you want to net more for your home. The first 3-4 weeks are the most critical, if we don't have an offer within the first 4 weeks, there is something wrong with the marketing plan. For more information on what we do, please visit my websitehttp:// www.ForSaleAgent.com. I know we can sell your home even in a market like this.

Angel Barroso

Fri Apr 18 2008, 19:39

Wow-how frustrating! I'm not sure if you have had the house listed or you are a for sale by owner. You seem to have a good idea of the pricing of the market but are afraid to put it at rock bottom. There are always people who will low ball you but I have noticed with my listings that price it very well the offers that come in are very close to the price. People are buying the well priced homes. To be one step behind the market is as good as 10 steps behind these days. EWM has super marketing in many aspects of the real estate market. You want to reach the people buying with money, not just the people shopping to see what the price of there property should be. Give me a call and I will be happy to list your property if it is not already. Exposure is everything. Good Luck-Pam Mayers-EWM Realtor-305-216-5864

Fri Apr 18 2008, 12:22

Hi Ivy, You've had your home listed almost a year and 3 months, correct? You've been behind the market when it comes to reducing the price which has led to a lot of lost time and missed opportunities and recently you raised the price? Definitely not a good move in today's market. Perhaps it's time to try a different approach and a different listing agent. Give me a call. Jose Gomez - Miami Realtor - The Keyes Company http://josegomezfl.sef.mlxchange.com

Fri Apr 18 2008, 07:03

Ivy,

I run my own monthly stats for the tri-county area. Currently, all of Dade has approx. 17,000 single family homes for sale. At the current absorption rate (houses sold per month), this equals an inventory of 43 (!) months. Normal would be 6 to 9 months.

I would call Katherine, find out if she works in your area and, if you don't have Realtor, ask her to take your listing. If you do have a current listing agreement with a Realtor, talk to her/him and agree to a realistic listing price; if that doesn't work cancel the agreement and then call Katherine.

All the best,
Tobias

Fri Apr 18 2008, 06:23

Katherine did a great job of educating you on the market. When you're for sale for a year with no offers, there are marketing problems (and that includes the biggest issue: pricing).
You need to partner with a broker and have constant exposure on the Internet and MLS, which is where 85-90% of sales occur. A Realtor who knows the market should also be guiding you through the changes in market data, and be showing your home for you, rather than have you do it. There are many reasons for this. If you'd like to discuss it in person, I'd be happy to meet with you, preview your property, and go over a marketing plan to get you sold.

Fri Apr 18 2008, 04:47

Most likely, it is the price preventing someone from making an offer. However, it could be something eles. First, I have a few questions. Do you have curb appeal? Are you putting your best foot forward? Showings might be happening but if you do not leave a good impression, well you will not get any offers. If the property is vaccant consider staging the home to give it a lived in feel. I have a buyer now, that will not consider making an offer on a vaccant home, because it gives him a negative feel. Is it as clean as possible? Often, sellers will over look a few stains on the carpet, but in this market buyers do not. And you may know that the stain on the carpet is where little suzie spilled her juice, but to a buyer this could be anything from juice to dog pee. Or it could be that, your house could have a smell that you are not aware of. For example, pets, unfamilure foods cooked in the home, too many foreclosures or short sales nearby or something a strange as your taxes could be higher than other like homes and even if you are priced well and your taxes are alot higher well for the most part everything around you would sell before yours. While taxes will deter a buyer from looking your price will need to spike their interest. In our area the tax rate is the same, but if the property was an investment and not homesteaded ther are logical reasons for your taxes to be higher than your neighbors and possibly higher by a few thousand. Next, interview other agents possibly your agent is at fault and does not have the best marketing plan. Often, when a property is listed by the same company for 300 plus days the property appears to be unwanted and simply changeing agents gives the listing a fresh approach. I hope this helps. Please give me a call if I can be of any help to you.

Thu Apr 17 2008, 19:27

Over a year on the market tells me you are priced too high. I suggest you find a Realtor who is active in your area, have him/her do a market analysis for you, price your house at the low end of the price analysis (your house is 'tired' goods from being on the market for a year and needs significant change to capture attention), offer some help with buyers closing costs, and have your Realtor organize some neighborhood open houses. Listen to whatever advice your agent gives you about landscaping, painting, cleaning and staging. It will all help you realize a faster sale at an acceptable price. Good Luck! Lynn vT

Thu Apr 17 2008, 16:01

Ivy
Disclaimer - please don't think I am being mean...this is an honest and caring post
Katherine gave some great stats. What you really need to do is call her and talk with her about those stats.
Here is the truth:While you have been holding out for "Your Price", other homes, over the past 18 months, have SOLD.. And while you sat back, the market has declined. I cannot tell if you have a Realtor or not, if you don't, should find one and listen to them.

Buyers do not care what you paid, how much you owe, how much you invested...they are buying value. That's why we call this a buyer's market. They call the shots. So the price per sqaure foot dropped $150 down from $217. If my math is correct that means the average per square foot price is $67. Ouch!

So instead of biting the bullet and pricing it right and getting it sold, unfortunately, you, like others, are now in some pretty deep do do. With that much inventory (36 months), you have to make some tough decisions. Which is why whomever you talk with needs to know three things:
1. Your market
2. Your property
3. Your situation

Please call her up, make an appointment. If she gives you bad news, don't blame her, you did have a better market earlier, however now you need to get serious, because this is spring selling season. So after this, and the next bunch of rate re-sets, (coming in July and August, ) it could get worse.

Thu Apr 17 2008, 15:48

I remember reading somewhere that there are 80,000 houses/condos for sale in Miami. That may have something to do with it. Keep on lowering the price. It will sell eventually,

Thu Apr 17 2008, 15:24

Ivy,

The reality of the market is that some homes will not sell. Who priced the home and what were the comparables used in doing so? That will greatly affect positioning the home to sell.

The best way to attract buyers is the internet. Make sure there is a strong online marketing presence. Even if you do drop the price by 50K, unless it is competitive and the best on the market, there is still no guarantee that it will sell.

Define what good shape means? Good shape to one person is not mint condition to another. If you want to attract the most buyers, the property needs to be below market value and the best condition on the market.

The more time your home stays on the market, the more $s you will lose. Sorry, that's why it is a Buyer's market right now.

Thu Apr 17 2008, 14:39

Hello Ivy,

Here are some statistics that will hopefully help you determine if indeed your home is priced competitively. The fact that you have had many showings and no offers may already be an indication that your house is overpriced. On dropping the price vs. offering incentives; I recommend hands down that you lower the price. I would say the number one attribute of homes that are selling is that they are priced very attractively.

As of March 2008

There were 293 single family homes listed for sale in your zip code
10 properties went into pending sale in March
8 properties closed in March
The average price per square foot for houses for sale in your zip code in March was $150.00 down from $217.00 in September 2007
The houses that sold in March were listed for an average of 85 days and sold for 93% of asking price on average
The average price of homes listed for sale is $412,000
The average price for homes sold in March was $322,000
Months of inventory figure in your zip code has significantly come down in the last couple of months; being 36.6 months in March compared to 146 months in November. This number comes down as sales increase, homes listed decrease, or both.

Hope this is helpful,
Katherine

Thu Apr 17 2008, 14:36

Ivy, as much as I'd like to be able to respond to your question, the answer is not that easy. Miami is very large and a Realtor that knows the particular area will be able to tell you what buyers are looking for and if it would be better to offer buyer incentives rather than reducing the price.
We have some customers that do both - they offer incentives, reduce the price and stay on top of the market by us providing regular market analysis.
If your house has not sold in one year - you also have to take into consideration specific feedback from people that have seen it. Does it show well, does it have curb appeal? Will staging benefit you? What do comparable homes in the are look like?

Please read this article I wrote about chasing the market - http://www.miamism.com/miami-home-sellers-to-the-race-ready-set-go

And also read this article on staging:
http://www.miamism.com/staging-is-useless-why-you-should-nev…

A marketing strategy is a lot more than ads and pricing - make sure you have covered all bases and you study what has worked, what has not, and what changes need to be made.
Good Luck!

Thu Apr 17 2008, 14:16