Hi,
the basic law of economics is "supply & demand". As a rule of thumb in the spring is more supply of houses rather than winter. Now the question is, is there more demand? The most important issue for you, is to come to a fair market price and be in the top 5% with your competing listings in your market. Your agent should provide all this info for you to analyze and do a calculated decision. Please do your homework, overpriced listings stay in the market much longer and end up chasing the market and selling for less than it is actually worth.
Yanni

The winter market may be slower, but there are still buyers who are in the position that they need to buy. If yours is a seasonal market, you may have buyers who are planning ahead who want to buy in the winter to give themselves plenty of time to "fix it up" before they move in. In our market, the Berkshires, we have about a six week window that the phones and e-mails are quiet, then buyers come back pretty strongly right after the 1st of the year. During that quiet time, though, the buyers are looking....they just aren't calling. They come back ready with lists of properties that they want to see.

Also bear in mind that in many markets there are fewer properties listed in the winter, because many sellers think this is a bad time to sell. Hmmm....fewer listings.....less competition....Sounds like a good time to sell, to me!

You as a seller have a right to call other agents in for a listing interview. Ask them how they market their listings.See if they have marketing ideas that you would like to see for your home Ask them what they do to get their other listings sold. Visit agent websites and company websites. Look in the local area for signs that say sold or pending, see who is doing business. Ask a neighbor or a friend who they know or used that they liked and trusted.and was very good at their job.
It is important that you tell the agent your expectations and what your goals/time frame are. You can extend your contract with the current agent and let them know exactly what you expect from them and how long you are willing to give them. It is also possible that once you expire in contract , that you will be contacted by phone or mail by other agents in the area.

If you are living in Rockport Massachusetts - Look in the Gloucester Times on Saturday for Real Estate Ad , Pick up the small North Shore Real Estate Booklet at the local stores, banks etc. See you else is marketing property in your neighborhood or price range. You could also visit open houses . Check out the Realtor selling the property. Is the Realtor showing the home in a positive light . Do they give or show local information to out of town buyers? Would you like someone to not only sell your home , but sell the life style that comes with it..
Many times the buyer does not come from your listing agent. Some buyers do not want dual agency. Other times agent may only have buyers in a different price range at the present time. Either way the agents job is to cause your home to sell. Homes today must be marketed on and off line. Make sure your home is being seen on Trulia.

Over all you might what to ask for the MLS change form . Adjust your price to local area trend price bands . Have the Realtor take new pictures. The leaves are changing in town - update it. If your home is under $350,000 , A first time home buyer may put in an offer to close by the November 30th deadline. Homes in Rockport Mass were slow this year. Many have gone under agreement in the past few weeks.

Homes Sales Rockport are down $50,000. from last year in price.
Months of inventory - 7- 63 depending on price band.Hopefully you are not between $500,000 - $6000,000.
Home sale price are down 9.1% off asking price right now. Average days on market is 148.

Please feel free to visit my website at http://www.capeannspaces.com

I have a link for selling tip.
You can also see my ad on Channel 20 Cape Ann Cable
The North Shore Real Estate Booklet
Gloucester Daily Times
My listings are also available on Trulia.

Michele Allison-Elwell
Re/Max Advantage
Cape Ann

michelea@remax.net
shellinthecove@gmail.com

Simple answer you need have your area reviewed for past 3 years make that decision. Most buyers in a family area school starts not interested in purchasing till spring. Home sales slow during holiday season.

National Featured Realtor and Consultant, Texas Mortgage Loan Officer, Credit Repair Lecturer
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Lynn911

http://www.lynn911.com

"There is nothing pressing us to sell the house, but we would like to sell it! "

Ms., If I were your Realtor, we would discuss that statement. Why do you want to move? What is the drawback if you are unable to move? Do you have any alternatives to moving?

From the strictly financial side of your situation, give these points some consideration:
1. During the time your home was on the market, how many homes, like yours,
sold, entered escrow, reduced their price, came on the market, and expired (failed to sell).
2. According to Trulla, (see link), the average sale price per square foot declined 18.7%, or about 1.5% per month. I am amazed that someone that wanted to sell would watch their equity evaporate and not price their home to sell..unless the really don't want to sell (for whatever reason).
3. The truth is that Realtors do not sell properties. Homes sell homes. In a recent survey the buyer that purchased a home was represented by a Realtor 90% of the time. So if Realtors are not showing your home, it is not because they are on vacation...they are selling other homes that show buyers more value.

The rule of thumb is 10-12 showings or one offer in the first two weeks on the market or a price adjustment is in order. We know that homes that sell in the first 30 days sell closest to asking price. In my MLS homes that sell after 90 days sell at 95.3% of asking price. Within 30 days they sell for 100.3% of asking price.

You are now at a disadvantage because all the Realtors know that your home has not sold. It will need to be completely re-marketed. So far as timing of the sale, if the local sales trends are continuing to decline at 1.5% per month, and you wait until spring (another six months), then it will sell for 9% less than it would sell for now.

If you'd like a referral to a top Realtor I'd be happy to refer to a great agent at no cost or obligation.

Good luck

Hi There, Now that you have experienced less than adequate service, you have a much better idea of what you will need an agent to do in order for your home to get the exposure it needs. Although your agent's job is not to bring buyers herself it is her responsibility to inform regularly as to what is occurring in the market around you. Consistent communication is critical when marketing a property.

Interview other brokers and compare services. The agent with the best plan and track record should be the one to get your business.

Ms,

First, thanks very much for the BA vote. I'm also glad that you seem to realize that even if you're not doing a FSBO, there was info in the blog that you could use to supplement your next agent's efforts. If you do decide to help with some marketing on your own, always keep your agent abreast of anything you do, and use him/her for the contact person. Be particularly sure that any descriptions used are approved by the agent to make certain there aren’t any fair housing laws broken.

Now secondly, it seems to me that the whole experience with your agent may have you bummed out. This could possibly leave you in a vulnerable position if you listed again, even with a new agent. You might just agree to anything just to get it over with. Maybe leaving it off for a while, and giving yourself time to fall back and re-group would be good. Enjoy the holidays and decorate the house as you choose, and come back with a vengeance after the first of the year might be a plan. However, I would start interviewing in Jan. and be ready to list the first of Feb. Yeah, you may miss a buyer by having it off, but as I alluded to earlier, you might not be mentally up to the challenge of negotiating an offer even with the help of your agent after what you've been through, and end up giving away the farm. Again, the best of luck to you.

Thanks to everyone for all your responses.

I don't think the FSBO route is for me. I don't have the time to devote to it. Although the information presented helpful. So we will probably go with another realtor. I blame myself for picking the wrong realtor this time and not doing enough research.

Personally I want someone who makes a living at selling houes. My realtor didn't seem hungry enough for a sale. I felt she was more an order taker. And she had very set rules on things.......like not practicing as a dual agent, not holding open houses, not posting on craigslist, not putting a sign at the end of my dead end street, screening buyers before showing, and she kept telling me that houses in my price range (400,000 to 500,00) were just not selling! When I questioned her on the price of our house....she didn't feel it needed to be dropped! I suggested the first drop and she reluctantly agreed. No suggestions ever came about what to do to make it more marketable. She claimed all buyers that came through the house loved it! We've had 6 months of a lot of activity (at least for this market), but no offers. This tells me that price is the issue! I don't wonder if other agents bringing in their own buyers (since she won't bring any of her buyers to the house) aren't using my house to sell their own listings? Also...my house has been listed in the local paper only 2 times in 6 months.

There is nothing pressing us to sell the house, but we would like to sell it! I didn't put it on the market to have it languish here for 6 months. I have the luxury of leaving it on the market.......but I'm afraid we already have a rep of "what's wrong with that house it's been on the market so long and not sold"......hence my question of taking it off for a few months (Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb) and putting it back on in the Spring! I'm just torn by what to do here!

Ms,

I'm not necessarily suggesting that you do a FSBO, but I was in a similar situation in the fall of 2007. I decided to drop my price an amount equal to the listing side commission, and go FSBO until after the Super Bowl without even putting the house on the MLS. I figured if nothing else that my DOM would be re-set, and it would be somewhat interesting to try. I actually had a blast, and if the situation ever arose again, which it won't, I would do it again in a heartbeat. However, if there was ever a perfect situation and person to do a FSBO, it was probably mine and me. It also helps to get lucky and find the perfect buyer. You might want to read the blog attached to the link below, to see if it would be something that would interest you. In the blog I put a lot of emphasis on being in the MLS, however in the strategy I've outlined, your basically skipping that part for a DOM re-set, but most agents will tell you that that really isn't that important as they will look at the history and the CDOM (cumulative).

http://www.trulia.com/blog/rockinblu/2008/08/thinking_about_…

Now if doing a FSBO isn't your cup of tea, you might want to read the blog attached the the link below on selecting an agent. Given my experience, I couldn't agree with Patrick more about buyers this time of the year, and certainly in the winter to be serious ones. It's hard enough to sell a home in this current environment, but you certainly have little hope if it's not listed for sale somehow. Good luck on whatever path you decide.

http://www.trulia.com/blog/rockinblu/2008/12/i_ve_got_my_fin…

Ms,

There appears that there may be two separate issues on the table. One dealing with the unacceptability of the agent and the second relating to if you should relist your home during the winter months.

By your own admission, you have already made up your mind not to go with the same agent....issue resolved.
In the case of putting your home on the market for the winter months we would ask you to consider this....what benefits would be served by NOT listing the property for this period.

Yes, it is a fact that northern real estate markets tend to be less active, however, this does not mean that all RE activity ceases. People still have interest and property is both shown AND sold during this period.

Winter is the slowest season for real estate sales. Many realtors schedule their vacation during the Winter months. However, current economic times will change many of our schedules. People sell during the Winter because they "have" to...job relocation, marriage, health, divorce, etc.

If you do not "have" to sell, then I suggest that you wait until Spring 10 to relist. If you do not "have to", "have to", "have to" sell, then I would suggest you wait a few years...when signs of economic are getting better.

Otherwise, sellers make the "largest/most" concessions during the Winter vs. Buyers make the most attractive offers during Spring and Summer.

Additionally, you need to also factor in the competition, at the moment, it is mostly distressed homes. So the owners are mostly banks and since they are already at a loss with the homes they hold, their reason to sell is NOT the same as yours. When these distressed homes are sold (usually at a low price), their sold values will affect the overall appraisal value which in turn will affect your ability to get the price you want for a regular sale.

I hope the above helps. You are welcome to chat further with me on this ... just send me an email. I just want to help and I have a lot more information I can share with you so you can use them with a local and new realtor to help you sell your home.

Sounds like you have already made up your mind about finding a new agent. The question now is whether to put it back on now or the spring. While the spring market is usually a more active market it also has a lot more looky loo's (not so serious buyers). Usually sellers that have their house on the market from now until the end of the year are more serious sellers. Buyers that are looking now until the end of the year are also more serious buyers.

Just a side note. Few houses get sold from an open house. Open houses are a way for agents to get clients. When you list a house with an agent, you are really hiring the agent to market your house and get people through the door, not for the agent you hire to sell the house themselves. Many times I don't have a buyer for my own listings so I wouldn't put a lot into that when looking for your next agent. Do find an agent that you feel comfortable with and will work with you. Keep an open dialogue with the agent and make sure they understand what you expect from them. Good Luck.