Mid summers are hot, steamy and very slow in the best of real estate markets. take a deep breath, it will get better

Hi Kim, Jeannie Feenick back to chime in again - good call urging your agent to explore additional sites to increase the exposure of your home. If she has the Showcase service with Realtor.com, ask for the report of hits to your page - that is a helpful way to moniter activity/interest where buyers are looking -- online. Also be sure that your photos are high quality and in good quantity - if the MLS allows 10, put in 10, ditto with other sites - listings with more photos get more attention.

At a minimum, your agent can go to Postlets.com and put together a very nice listing ad that will automatically go out to many sites, including Trulia.

This is where it is happening - make sure you are visible!

Best,
Jeannie Feenick
Weichert Realtors
Search and connect at http://www.feenick.com

Never thought of it that way. I just emailed my agent. She is going to have the office person, who she says is a web expert look into other sites.

Oh well. If anyone DOES show your neighbor's house, they will quickly notice you are available also, and will want to see yours, so to an extent, your neighbor's Realtor is working for you!

-Marc

Thanks everyone. Yes Mark I don't know why we aren't everywhere either. We were out there but now we aren't. She has a weekly tracking tool that she sends me and it shows that people are looking but no showings. Oh well if it doesn't sell, we will look into renting it out...

Thanks, Kim

Hi Kim,

I remember you. You had the agent who didn't have a clue about how to expose your home on the Internet. Well your new agent seems to need some help there also, as I can't find you on Trulia, Yahoo, etc. Your next door neighbor's house is there though!

I know I'm a troublemaker, I can't help it LOL.

-Marc

Hi Kim, the market does slow down in the summer months. It follows the school schedule for the most part, as the school year draws to a close, attention shifts to summer vacation and plans. However, as is the case around the holidays, buyers that are out at this time often are quite serious, and may be motivated to get situated before the new school year beings.

Price will generally cure all - especially in our current market. And so my recommendation is to revisit the price. Buyers are looking for value, no question, and it is not that nothing is moving - in fact, while slow, homes are selling. We are finding that once a home hits is "strike" price, it is selling in our market in the 1-5% of the then current list price. It may be that you need another price improvement to hit your strike price.

Good luck to you - to read more about the importance of pricing, visit http://www.feenick.com and click on The Feenick Advantage - you'll find a section on Smart Market Pricing. It has just never been more important to get that price right!

Best,
Jeannie Feenick
Weichert Realtors
NJAR Circle of Excellence 2007
Weichert Executive Club
908-337-0943

Typically July is slow and August picks up. Most people look in April - June and look for July closings. Then comes vacation time for most people.. and then the people that did not buy in the spring for early summer closing seem to get back out in August to close before school opens.

Be on top of your realtor to be sure your home is being marketd properly.

Yes, it definitely slows down once you get past the time where someone can comfortably get moved in before the beginning of the school year. Late July and August are usually quieter. This summer things are worse because interest rates have climbed and there is a lot of fear in the market right now.

Also, properties located in distant suburbs similar to where you are located seem to be hit a little harder because of the gasoline situation. Many people are choosing closer commutes.

If I were you I would want to be priced lower than the competition right now. You've got to make your house a compelling bargain compared to others like yours. There are few buyers right now in general. But they are out there and your house can be the next one to sell in its class if it is the best deal available.

-Marc