I don't know, and so can't comment, on the market in Ranson. However, as for the 6 month listing, Realtors like the listing to be as long as possible. The reason: It takes time and money to market a home properly. Sure, a Realtor may get lucky and the property sells during the first week. However, especially in today's market, that's very unusual. More often, though, it takes a while. For instance, 3 months in many parts of the country is close to the average. That means half the homes sell in under 3 months, half take more than 3 months. A Realtor would hate to lose listings which he/she has been marketing at the 3-month mark.

Now, having said that, in all the properties that I've owned and sold, I've never agreed to a 6 month listing. I've agreed to shorter listings, and promised the agent that if he/she was doing a good job and it hadn't sold, I'd renew my listing agreement. And that's happened. But many Realtors are understandably leery of such promises and assurances. After all, my promise was not enforceable.

One thing you should ask any Realtor (if it's not presented to you before you ask) is: "At the price you're proposing I list at, how long do you think it will take to sell?" And if you've got the flexibility and want to sell more quickly, go with a lower price. There are properties around me that are reasonably priced at $400,000 and likely to sell in 6 months. But if the owner said they really wanted to sell in 30 days, the more appropriate price would be lower--maybe $360,000, for instance. And, in this example, I'd certainly take a 3 month listing at $360,000 if that was what the seller wanted in order to sell his home quickly.

It's all negotiable--price, length of listing agreement, commission.

Good luck.

The market in the Columbus, OH Metro area is GREAT! Don't pay attention to the media. There are homes selling everyday! It's probably not as bad as the media makes it seem in your area either. Your contract time can be negotiated to any time frame. Even though most of my listings sell in 3-4 months, I like to get 6 month contracts "just incase" that way I dont have to bother my clients for a signature of extension.

Cliff,
As far as the market in your specific area of West Virginia I cannot comment. As far as the timeline on your contract everything is negotiable. I usually depending on the listing ask for at least six months. It will take a week or so to have all the listing information trickle down to all the different websites and have the print advertising come out. Now we as agents pay for our print advertising out of our own pockets. So before we make dime one we are putting out money to help you sell your home. Depending on the size of the home and the market I would try to capture that may greatly increase if I feel I have to go out of the immediate area to find the buyers for that market. All of this takes our time and money so in order to give us a fair shot I need at least six months to give a good shot. Now I want and am going to try to sell you home from day one. It is beneficial for me to sell it as soon as possible. So talk to your agent and ask them specifically about their marketing plan and timeline so that you can better understand.

Hope this helps,

Larry Story
Coldwell Banker Triad

Hi Cliff!

My name is Nick Thruston and I am a Real Estate Agent in Richmond, VA. I do not research Ranson's Real Estate market, but if you need expert advice in your area please contact me, otherwise I will try to answer the first part of your question anyway.
"Has the market gotten worse in the last month?"
The first thing to identify here is what is the "worse" or bad market? I don't really know if there is such a thing. If you are a buyer with nothing to sell, then no, the market is fine. I see on your tag that you are a buyer and a seller, thats great too! The real esate market is cyclical, and you always try to sell when things are up but it is not always an option. You might take a hit on the sale of your house, but you might get a great bargain on your purchase! If you are trying to crunch the numbers for this next purchase and sale, please contact a licensed Realtor they will be glad to help!

"Why do Realtors require a 6 month contract?"
Well Cliff, there are many answers to this question but I will tell you how I determine this timeframe with my clients. I operate my business a little differently and have contracts for both my buyers and my sellers. Of course in your case if you were my client, I would have you sign each of these contracts. With a Buyer's contract it depends on your goals. The very first day we meet we detrmine what your needs are and with my guidance we determine a proper timeline for your home purchase. That timeline then determines the Buyer's contract expiration date.
For my seller's contracts, the expiration date is determined by looking at my client's timeline, and also the home inventory currently on the market. In Richmond, I use 6 months still.

Just because you have signed a contract to sell your home in 6 months doesn't mean you have to wait that long to change things up. If you want to sell your home faster, I'm sure your licensed agent will have some suggestions!

Please respond if you need any clarification. Hope this helps, and good luck with your home purchase!

Hi Cliff,

Two important factors are affecting home prices currenly:

#1 Some forced home sales that have closed in the past two months are causing CURRENT appraisals to come in LOWER.

#2 Due to the more restrictive guidelines that Mortgage lenders are requiring, Buyers are learning that they qualify for LESS money. Thus, Buyers can afford and are offering LESS money to home sellers.

Realmart Realty is a Flat Fee broker. Not only will we save you 50-100%of the commission, you can cancel your MLS listing at ANY time.