What is the price of your home?

My answer: Auction. Look, I'm not an auctioneer. But the best way to create a bidding frenzy and pull the "mental triggers" of scarcity, social proof, etc., in potential buyers' minds is to get them to an auction with a bunch of other buyers all interested in the same property. Books have been written about this -- look up "How to Sell a House in 5 Days" at the Smyrna Library -- I've read it, and it's good. It tells you how to do a successful auction. For homes that have been listed a long time like yours, an Auction (whether done by yourself or a licensed Auctioneer) is an option you might should consider. You probably have a pricing problem too, incidentally. Every house will sell at SOME price. Hope that helps!

Another thought is to have your Realtor contact some of the showing agents and ask what the negatives are or some of the negative feedback from their clients. That might give you a better clue. A lot of people, including agents, have been taught that if you can't say anything good about something, then don't say anything at all... and unfortunately that isn't helping you. Also if you have dogs or cats, you get used to their smells, but people coming in will notice that right away and many shy away from it. Same goods with some cooking smells, for instance garlic, curry, cabbage and fish all tend to be strong staying smells that are not always appreciated!

Belinda: You have had an offer so that is good news. Your home is showing 2-3 times per week and that is a fabulous statistic. My daughter works the Smyrna, Lavergne area and she says that the area is selling. You might throw in an incentive... like paying closing costs.

Something is just not adding up here. Most of the buyers looking at your home must be looking out of curiosity. Is it overbuilt for the neighborhood? With this many showings, you should have already sold this home.

Ask your realtor to set up appointments for you to take a look at your competition. Take notes on price per square foot, features, condition, and then compare them to what you are offering.

I see you have had many answers to your question. My thought is sit back and put on your buyers thinking cap. Are there incentives built in? How is the home being marketed? If it is priced right and well cared for then there is something more to this. One more item to think about. Maybe you need to give it a rest. Often when my Buyers see a home has been listed for so many months they see a problem with the home and will not go under contract with it. You might take it off the market for a few weeks or a month and then re-list with a new photo and marketing strategy.

Belinda
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't think you are getting a clear picture.
Your home has been for sale for 12 months. How many homes, similar to yours, have sold in the last 12 months?

The fact is that a well-price, marketed home is going to sell. If (and I am assuming) other homes have sold, then if all other factors are equal, you have a pricing problem. MLS statistics show consistently that homes that sell in the first 30 days sell closest to asking price. The longer they are on the market, the greater the gap.

And, unfortunately, the market knows how long you home was on the market, and that the home did not sell. We are at the peak of spring market. If you are serious, I would look at a current CMA and price BELOW the comps (with your history, you are going to have to).

When somebody writes "they all say my home shows well but we've had no offers in 12 months" somebody is either not being honest, or does not know what they are talking about. If your home was priced correctly, you would have offers.

My rule is: ten showings or two offers in two or three weeks , or we adjust the price. We need to be in escrow in 30 days for clients to get top dollar.

Hope this is helpful

If you've had 2-3 showings a week, then you've had over 30 during the time your property's been on the market. With only one offer, something's wrong. And it's not just price. You're getting people there--people who, probably for the most part (because Realtors don't like wasting their time), are interested in buying, and buying in your approximate price range. So, a price reduction wouldn't hurt, but the people who are coming through are prepared to spend about what you're asking for your home.

Something's turning the buyers off. My guess would be that, despite what the agents say, your house doesn't show that well. Lot of people, even agents, try to be polite and don't want to offend people. It's tough saying: "Your house smells terrible." Or "You really need to get rid of all this clutter" when that "clutter" consists of your family pictures.

Or it could be that your house doesn't match the description on the MLS. Maybe people are expecting one thing and discovering something else. And Toni's comment about square footage not being the final determinant is on target. It's like saying a car has the best "dollar to horsepower ratio." People buy cars for all sorts of reasons--colors, manufacturer, number of seats, fuel economy, and so on. So, forget your price per square foot formula.

Here are two things to do. First, have your agent make a list of every home within a 5-mile radius of yours that's for sale within 15% of your list price. Don't worry about square footage. Add to that any home within a 5-mile radius with the same number of bedrooms, regardless of price. That's your competition. Visit each and every one of them. Take a note pad. Compare the houses to yours. Compare objectively, and compare subjectively. You want yours to be at the low end price-wise, and at the upper end appearance-wise. Be objective. Be ruthless.

Second, have your agent throw a broker's open. And you'll ante up for a couple of nice prizes--maybe a couple of $50 gas cards. To enter, the agents must fill out a 2-question survey: (1) If you were to price this house to sell in 30 days, what price would you list the house for? (2) If you could change two things about this house to make it more likely to sell, what would they be? Then study the answers.

Hope that helps.

Belinda -

Stop looking at what is for sale and stop looking at the comps once your property is listed for sale. If you have a lot of showings and no offers, then it is something AT the property that is causing it not to sell.

Houses priced too high are not going to sell in any market. People get caught up in the marketplace thinking that if everything else selling for a million, there's should sell at a million too.

A good real estate agent should give you a realistic range for what you can expect. But, that does you no good if you insist on going higher. Before you set your heart on a price, take a look at where similar houses have actually been selling (not just what sellers are asking) and adjust for your own home's features or flaws.

John J. Reinhardt
RE/MAX Greater Atlanta
678.784.4440

When a home is priced right it will sell. I think maybe you still are not at the right price for todays market.

I would recommend that you hire a professional home stager. They can do wonders.

Square footage is not always a reliable gauge for the sale of real estate. For instance, if houses in your neighborhood are fairly similar and have roughly the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and your house varies from that, your square footage price is likely to vary also. If you have overbuilt your house for the neighborhood, many people may come to see it out of curiosity, but will not want to buy it at your price because the rest of the neighborhood is so much less. If your house is smaller, but your price is similar to others in the neighborhood, you may get lookers wanting to see why it is worth so much more, but will not buy because it is smaller. You should be asking your Realtors why it isn't selling.

Do other houses comprabale to yours actually sell? What's the difference between those and yours? If yoru house is better (or comparable) and is priced for less, than it should be the one that sells (unless nothign sells at all)

Ultimately, it's the price. With 2-3 showings per week it seems like your realtor(s) have done a good job at promoting your house. But your agent can't make someone buy, all they can do is try to get as many people in your house and hope that someone makes an offer.