Vicki,
I always suggest giving the incentive to the buyer, not the agent. Their incentive is their commission, but if you drop the price and offer some closing help to the buyer, it usually does the trick.

Good Luck!

Excellent answers you have from fellow Realtors. It is definitely a price issue. I would request an updated market analysis and have your agent show you how many homes are being absorbed or sold in your neighborhood. I definitely recommend viewing your competition and find out how your house compare to the them. You have to be priced slightly below your competition to gain the advantage.

If youe home has not sold in a reasonable period of time it is either Location, Price or Condidion. Sometimes a home needs to be "Staged". That means get rid of the clutter, or you may need to paint rooms in a nutral color.

The drive by appearance is very important. If there is no drive by appeal, it's going to be hard to get the buyer inside.

Hope this helps

Vicki,

You've received a lot of good advice from the previous answers and I concur with a lot of it.

The first thing I would do (if your Realtor hasn't already done it) is ask for a current market analysis for your home. You want to compare your home to a couple of things. First you want to compare your home to similar homes in your community that are currently for sale. For example, if you live in Eagle Harbor it is important to compare to other Eagle Harbor homes because of the amenities offered to all homeowners in the community. If you live in a community that doesn't offer those amenities you don't want to compare to Eagle Harbor homes (it's always best to do this first level of comparison within your own neighborhood because that's what appraisers will attempt to do).

Once you know how your home compares to other homes for sale within your neighborhood you need to understand how similar homes in the greater area are priced (for example how do homes of your size compare within Fleming Island). It's important to understand what the larger pool of homes for sale in the area are because buyers will make trade offs and may choose a similar home in a different community because they can get more for their money and may not truly need the amenities of your community.

Thirdly, you need to understand what has recently sold in your community within the past 3 months. That is the time frame appraisers try to use when evaluating the market value of your home when you receive an offer. A home priced too high won't appraise and the buyer won't be able to obtain financing.

With these three things in mind the next thing you have to do is be honest with yourself. Are you willing to reduce your price to what the market analysis says your home will sell for? If not, you shouldn't be in the market right now. There are too many homes that are appropriately priced for you to keep an overpriced home on the market. Buyers will question why the home has been on the market for so long and will shy away from looking at it (assuming there must be something wrong with it) or assume the seller must be desperate and make a low ball offer.

If you absolutely must sell, don't completely turn away the person willing to rent your home. If the renter wants to purchase your home in the next year you can negotiate a contract for an acceptable price but set a closing date for up to 365 days into the future. This is called "occupancy prior to closing". The buyer rents the home back from you for the specified time frame, but you have a contract in hand that they must perform to just as if they were a buyer that would close in 30 days.

Good luck with your decision and I hope you make the right moves to sell your home.

Scott Sullivan
Realtor
Prudential Network Realty
3535 Highway 17, Suite 10
Fleming Island, FL 32003

C: 904-327-5676
O: 904-269-1716
Scott.Sullivan@PrudentialNetworkRealty.com

I think the first thing you should look at is how is you property priced in comparison with other properties in your area (your competition). Also look at ways to get buyers attracted to your property as in buyer incentives. These could be paying closing costs, offering home warrenty, etc.

Margaret Zelenko
904-718-4644
Margaret.Zelenko@PrudentialNetworkRealty.com

Hi Vicki

You want suggestions - here are mine............not sure how long your home has been on the market, but.....if it's been a while, and you're not getting offers or traffic.............

1. reduce the price - and not a puny reduction.......a reduction that will get the attention of the buyers
2. if you want to offer an incentive that is most effective, I recommend offering it to the buyer ( ie: closing costs, 3 months taxes, etc) - not to the agent......that's just my opinion
3. make sure you are fully represented on the intenet - great photos, virtual tour, multiple sites, etc.- most buyers start their search there...make sure the home sparkles and shows well
4. stay current (via your agent) with the local market - know what's coming and going so that you have a sense of what is happening
5 if all else fails - reduce it again!!!!!

Good luck to you............let us know how things turn out!
Debbie Rose
Prudential NJ Properties

ps
by the way, agents should not discuss specific commission amounts, (especially should not state what is "normal") as that can be seen as a violation of the anti-trust laws....all commissions are negotiable.........careful what you write in a public forum......

Hi,


No mater what the president says, we are in a true market, capitalistic system to this point.

You should have at least 8 showings on average to sell. These must be in a relatively short time span. So, if you want to sell, the market says drop the price. If the realtor is not property marketing the home, to your expectations, drop the realtor.

goodnight comrade,
Blaine
904-874-0814

Just funning with you some. My inspector, he is in Russian as we speak, has Pravda articles that are making fun of us. Rightly so.

Vicki,
Have your agent show you the prices where the homes in your area with similar upgrades have been selling. You only want the past few months though and no further. Market has dropped just since January. As far as price, you want to make sure it is low enough to bring the showings but also leaving you some wiggle room when negotatiing.
Any good agent does not need an incentive over their regular commission to sell your home. The buyer needs a price however where they feel they are getting a good deal.
Ask your agent to show you all the places your home is advertised on the internet. Showings are your problem. Either the marketing is not getting out, or your price is out of range. Many sales are now occuring in our area. Yours should be one of them!
Beth Clark @ Coldwell Banker Devonshire

In today's market you really need to be priced right in order to sell; you are having to compete with bank owned homes and foreclosures. I would make sure I am priced to sell consult your Realtor and have a current CMA done and price accordingly. Also, an incentive will help in the sale of your home.

Hi Vicki,

Without knowing more about your situation, it sounds like a pricing issue first and foremost. Traffic/activity is predicated on the popularity of your community etc but the number one method, especially in a market where you are competing against numerous bank owned and short sales is price. Bonuses are a good thing from the agent's perspective but the buyer is seeking value. I am assuming your total commission offered is 6% and that is split equally between each company, assuming your agent does not sell it. It is imperative that what is referred to as your co-broke fee is at least 3%.

Best of luck.

Marty Kaiser
Keller Williams Realty
407-595-9700
marty@floridasells.com