Hi Nancy,

I was an original owner of a house in Five Canyons (Whispering Oaks) for 7 years and I sell a lot of homes in Five Canyons. I have a home listed for $995K which is the largest model (3,526 sq ft) and there is another home listed 50K lower than my listing that just went pending. The house that went pending kept reducing their price till they finally went pending (thank goodness). This floor plan was worth$1,150,000+ just about a year ago. As a matter of fact I sold my own house (2,992 sq ft) smaller than my listing for $1,125,000. So it is unfortunate that the prices are going down so much in such a nice area.

I wonder which one is your home since I know of all the homes on the market there. If I can answer any other questions, please let me know.


Thanks

Meena Gujral
Help-U-Sell Achievers Realty
510-279-9580

http://castrovalleyhomes.wordpress.com/

Let me give you some stats....as of the end of April, there were 201 single family homes on the market...and 37 sales. There is currently 5.4 months of inventory on the market. Average days on the market are 48. (Source: Trendgraphix.) I'm sure your Realtor has laready shared this with you but it's worth repeating.

So....19 days on the market is not that long in Castro Valley. Also keep a mind that a higher priced home may be harder to sell. There are fewer buyers in upper price ranges and the money market is tight. (Median sales price in Castro Valley is $525,000.)

When you say your home is $30,000 less than other homes, are you talking about homes that are still on the market? How does your home compare to homes that have sold in the last 30-45 days? What is your Realtor advising you to do? (You are using a Realtor?)

My best source for selling Bay Area homes - Castro Valley and elsewhere - is Craigslist.....I use a service that incorporates 25+ photos, vides, etc all in the ad. Send your agent to craigs list and have them search under my name for ideas.

Good luck - and congrats on your new home!

Hi Nancy, all of my Team Agents utilize the Internet to its fullest. All Listings are placed on Zillow, Trulia, Frontdoor, Oodle, Vast, Homes.com, and several other sites. A video/virtual Tour is made and distributed to YouTube, Meta Cafe, Yahoo Video, AOL Video, and 70 other Video sites on the Internet, all funneling back to a single property website featuring the listing. In addition, a unique identifier is placed on your yard sign that allows anyone with a cell phone driving by to download all the information, via text message, onto their home. They can also, if they have a PDA or Smartphone, download a full color brochure of your property. We call this "The Triple Play", and it is the very best convergence of technologies we have ever found when it comes to exposing a home to the maximum amount of Buyers! PS - We also make the Video available on iTunes!!!! Best of Luck! The Coach

Nancy,

You said it is listed with an agent. Is it a full service brokerage? If so, I suggest you set down with your agent and ask them what are they doing to get your home sold quickly. What is their marketing plan? Where are they advertising your home? I also suggest that you discuss what your alternatives are if it does not sell before your new home is ready. The reality is you may need make to 2 mortgage payments for a period of time. Are you willing to rent it out for a year? You might want to talk to your agent about a rent to own program. That might attract more buyers. Or if you don't get any showings you need to reduce the price even further. We live in Frederick, Maryland. It was a hot market a couple of years ago, over 20% appreciation a year. These days it is just the opposite. Now, we tell our sellers if it doesn't sell in 30 days and you don't get regular showings they need to reduce the price by 1% and continue to reduce the price every thirty days by 1% until it sells. The percentage in you area may be different , but you need to stay ahead of a falling market. One other idea that comes to mind is if your house can qualify for FHA you can give a gift to a buyer through a program like Nehemiah. The web site for Nehemiah is http://www.getdownpayment.com. With a program like Nehemiah and FHA you can get a qualified buyer to buy your home for no money down. That might attract buyers. I hope that helps

Nancy,

Okay, good, you've solved 95% of your exposure problem. What does your agent tell you, you need to do? Or said another way, while this forum is certainly full of ideas, since you have an agent, you should be able to get the best answers from them.

That said, have you gotten a list from your agent of who they think your top 6 competitors are in your neighborhood/market? Do you know why they are your top competitors? That is, how do you compare?

Have your agent take you to see every one of these competitors, and look at them the exact same way a buyer would. How do you think you compare after doing this?

Not knowing your purchase price, your days on the market is very low by any measure, so I'm not sure if maybe you're jumping the gun. How many showings have occured?

Have you seen the full listing report for your home in the MLS? It's not uncommon for a little mistake to make your house invisible to the market. Check every detail of the MLS listing to be sure it's accurate.

Regards,

Jeffrey

Nancy,

Are you listed with an agent such that the home is in the Multiple Listing Service? You didn't indicate through what means you're trying to sell your home.

Jeffrey