Keep dropping the price to 10% below the comparable SOLDS in your area. Offer an incentive to agents such as $5000 to agents if sold by a specific date

Thank you everyone for answering my question on how to sale my home quickly for a fair value in this market. A couple of things hit me, as I was reading each answer. First, my location may not be the best due to a neighbor who has a messy yard (working on that) second I put 20k into the house to spruce it up( hind site- too much money) This included a 6' privacy fence, new carpet, landscaping for curb appeal, new or newer appliances, everything maintaned and cleaned up. My appraisal is less than 3 months old, even so, I realize I can not price by that one detail. My home has show over 11,000 times ( so my realtor reports say - includes hits on virtural tour, realtor.com, realtor site, showings) I had 2 cash offers last year what I considered very low, (100k, and 105k) I guess in hind site I should of taked the offers, even though I would be 15k in the hole. The only financing available is conventional (does not qualify for VA or FHA) but the realtor found 95% LtoV for the potential buyers. Many people want the home, they just cant qualify or afford it. We do not even take contracts unless they are prequalified or cash buyers. We feel it is a waste of time. I am now thinking about hiring a property management company to rent it out until the market is better. I know this will lower the value of the home because of the rental useage. So any advice would be helpful. Should I take the next 105k Cash offer (hopefully this spring) or should I take it off the market and rent it out, hoping for minimal damage?

Your agent has probably told you what he or she believes the market value of the house is and you have now reduced it to or possibly below that price point. In a market with excess inventory, even correctly priced homes do not get many showings. When the market first tanked in 2005 I re-learned this very painful and important lesson. In order to get shown and sold in a terrible market, you have to price - incorrectly -

WHAT? - yes, to bring the buyer traffic in, (during a terrible market) the price needs to be noticeably below market value. There is just too much inventory to see for the few buyers out there. They can't see them all. At or near the market value, your house is just a straw colored needle in a haystack. Improve your odds by being a bright shiny (underpriced) needle.

Even when you have all (not just most, I mean all) the competition beat on price it might still take a few weeks. I have had the experience many times of having few or no showings for 3 weeks on my well advertised listings, then all of a sudden receiving 3 or more offers in the same day. It is that kind of a business.

So my answer to your question is: No - In order to sell the house in 2007 you will probably have to price it and sell it at a price point that you feel is not a fair value to Sheryl.

I echo the others when I say "fair price"? A fair price is the price a buyer is willing to pay in this market. There are really only 3 factors in the sale.
1. Price
2. Condition
3. Location.
if the other 2 have issues than it is price again. So try to fix condition, you can't fix location and if that fails move the price until it sells. By the way an appraisal by definition is a value place in a moment of time based on past sales. That's "history" for get about the appraisal and price to beat the competition.

Hi Sheryl
Where is your home located? Has there been advertising done? How are you priced in comparision to the rest of the homes near you? It's a rough seller's market right now. We have tons of homes on the market, we need more buyers. With the snow birds coming in town you may just have your buyer in that flock.
Best of luck!

Hi Sheryl,

When was your home appraised? If it was appraised at the beginning of your listing period (16 months ago), toss that out the window. What is considered "fair market value" has changed in the last 6 months. Additionally, appraisals don't always determine fair market value, as there are too many other factors involved in its determination.

Really, what is fair market value? As defined in Wikipedia:

It is the most *probable* price at which a good or service will exchange, expressed in terms of cash or equivalent, in a free market assuming:
-- A knowledgeable and willing seller unencumbered by undue pressure to sell and acting in his own best interest; and,
-- A knowledgeable and willing buyer unencumbered by undue pressure to buy and acting in his own best interest; and,
-- A reasonable time for exposure in a free and open market.

In other words, it is a **probable** figure, and true "market value" is only determined in hindsight.

Therefore, it is important to look at the market value of comparable homes already sold (in the past 3-6 months only in this market) to determine your fair market value.

If, after careful study of the current market, you are still not generating activity, it's time to get honest with yourself about the state of your home. Be sure it's in its best showing condition, that its decor has mass appeal, that it's clean, organized and its curb appeal is top-notch.

Best of luck.

What is the feedback on your home. Does yur agent use a system like homefeedback.com that you can review.

Sorry Sheryl...one more thing
The appraisal is not a valid criteria for LIST PRICE.
It can be ONE of the factors, but the others I mentioned are going to be of more help to you.
Keith

Sheryl
How many homes, like yours, have sold since your home has been on the market?
If there are other homes selling, then it can be safely said that the buyers of those homes selected them because they represent the best value, right?
What can you do to make your home have more value?
Ask your Realtor? If they don't know, ask another one. It is not rocket science.
Look at the homes that have sold...what did they offer the buyers that yours does not?
Then looks at the homes with which you are competing. Ask the same question.

Good luck!
Keith

Sheryl,
What has your realtor suggested and what have they done to market your property?
Have you decluttered & depersonalized the space? Is this what your realtor suggested?
Have you "staged it"? Offered finacing incentives?
We need more info to help you!
Jolie

There are many facets to that question. Howver, the market is determined by the buyers, not the sellers. Is your home in top selling conditioning? Decluttered, spruced up, upgraded, etc? Does it have high curb appeal? What is unique about your home that would make a buyer want to buy it versus a similar home? What is your agent doing to actually market the property? Just putting it on the MLS is no longer enough. Are you getting any showings? Assuming it is in top condition and you are getting showings but no offers, and your agent is doing his/her job and you want a quick sale, take the lowest market comparable in the area and price it 2% below that number. (You mentioned that it is 6% below recent appraisal- is that a re-finance appraisal or a recent sale in your neighborhood? ) Right now Prescott Valley has a high number of homes for sale - especially in the Viewpoint - and you're entering the slow season. Look at your home as though you were a buyer looking at it and be critical about what you see. (An easy way to do this is to go look at other homes in the area that are for sale and compare them to yours.) Then, get aggressive.

Selling quick for a fair value? Values are determined by buyers. So, eventhough you are below appraisal, if no one thinks it is a fair value, it won't sell and you need to lower your price. When selling you have to determine which is your goal? Price or time. Then pick one and market accordingly.

Have your agent look very closely at recent sales and share this information with you. In most markets, agents can now partner with auctioneers. Investigate this avenue.

Your agent should show you from the MLS or tax records what other properties have actually sold for that are similiar to yours. You need to price your home very near the average price of those sales.

If the home is priced right, you would have had at least 10-12 people preview your home and 1-2 offers by now, according to the NAR statistics.