The Cindy Dickerman Team

Megan, It sounds like you have a GREAT head on your shoulders. You are absolutely right when it comes to the fact that what one THINKS their home is worth and what the market will pay for the house are two very different things. It also isn't that the Realtors want to reduce the price to make a quick sale - we have a legal and fiduciary responsibility to you as your agent to get you home sold in a manor that will meet your needs. In this market, it is usually telling our clients news they don't want to hear, which is not fun for us. In fact, if it were as simple as just promoting a home to sell it at a higher price, don't you think it would benefit us more because we would make more money?
Unfortunately, a few bad apples have made a bad name for honest, hard working real estate agents, and it is a shame. - Wed Jul 9 2008, 07:07

Megan,
I also would agree with Jose, that if the price is accurate, then it will sell quickly. The other extremely important factor is the condition and how it shows. This means - is the exterior upkept well?; is the interior cleaned and staged to impress?; are the appliances, kitchen and bathrooms updated? When buyers look at your home, they are comparing it to the other homes that they have seen, and if the price is competitive or even priced just below market, and it shows better than the other homes, they will choose that one over the other competition.

It is also highly prudent to talk to and hire a Realtor that has experience selling homes in this market, and getting the job done, as well as knows your neighborhood hands down. Our team has sold over 30 homes this year so far, which is making for a good year for us, especially when you consider that the average realtor in this area only sells 6 - 8 homes per year in a good market. Plus our List to sale price ratio is 98% compared to the average in Chester County which is currently 93% and our average days on market is currently 38 days, compared to the average of 81 days.

If you would like to talk to us about what your home would sell for in this market, please contact us. 610-363-4383, we would love to help you! - Tue Jul 8 2008, 09:45

Maria,
It very much depends on where your townhome is located and what condition it is in. In this market, next to price, those are the other two most important aspects. Your best bet is to have a qualified, experienced Realtor come out and give you a full Comparative Market Analysis of your home, that will show you the most recent solds, what condition they were in, how much they sold for, and how they really compare to your home.
Realtors seem like a dime a dozen out there, so you want to make sure you choose the right one, especially in this market. You want to choose someone who will work with you and help educate you on the market, as well as tell you things you may not want to hear, instead of just tickling your ears, which could cost you a lot of time and money.
We have a Listing Specialist on our team whose only focus is to do that for our clients and she is very good and our current stats speak to it. Our average days on market is 39 days, as opposed to the average realtor whose days on market is about 80. We also sell our listings for 5% more than the average listing in chester county. Of course all these numbers are verifiable on the multiple listing service for this area.
If you want our Listing Specialist to get in contact with you, feel free to call us at 610-363-4383. If we came out, you would be under no obligation to use us. You can also learn more about us by going to our website athttp:// www.CindyDickerman.com

Good luck! - Sat Jun 21 2008, 06:40

First, I would ask if you have a Realtor representing you in this transaction. As a buyer there is very little reason not to have an agent representing your interests since you do not pay their commission, plus they have a legal and fiduciary (financial) responsibility to you as their client. I liken it to going into court with out a lawyer. A good agent will know the answers to those questions. Plus if the seller is being represented by a Realtor, you are at a major disadvantage, not to mention the possiblity of being legally responsible for issue if you do not do the paperwork correctly.

Regarind the market -Chester county as a whole is doing very well. The average days on market in Chester County right now is around 80 days, and according to a report that was released today, West Chester's average days on market is at about 80 days.

As far as asking, it depends on the type of home and exactly where you are looking as to how homes are done. I can tell you that the average list to sale price ratio in west chester is around 96% or a 4% decrease from list to sold price.

As far as asking for 15% off the asking price - that also depends on a lot of details - in general and with out knowing the details, my first reaction is that that is too much off the asking price, plus paying the closing costs.

If you would like further help on this, please feel free to contact me - Chris LaGarde, with the Cindy Dickerman Team of Keller Williams. I am a Buyer Specialist. You can contact me by going to http://cindydickerman.com/meet_chris_lagarde - Thu May 15 2008, 13:13

This is Chris LaGarde, Buyer Specialist from the Cindy Dickerman Team. Each home is a unique and different situation, in and of itself. There is not one answer for this. As the previous answers said, it is dependent upon the recently sold comparable properties to that home, and the unique situation that the seller is in.

This is one reason and example why, as a home buyer, you need to have a Buyers agent representing you and your goals. I can tell you that the average days on market for a home in Chester county is current around 80 days, which is just shy of 3 months, so for a home to be on the market since February and not sold is not uncommon.

Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions, I would be glad to help! http://cindydickerman.com/meet_chris_lagarde - Thu May 15 2008, 09:13

There are several places you can look, only a few are free. This site, Trulia, allows you to find foreclosures, and you can look on Chester County's website for the upcoming sheriff sales. That site is http://dsf.chesco.org/
and in the middle of the home page, toward the right is "Schedules" and at the bottom of that list is "Sheriff Sales". That will give you a pdf of the upcoming sheriff sales.
Realtytrac (http://www.realtytrac.com/) is another place for foreclosures, but that is a subscription based service and costs money. Many times, if you find a realtor you trust and are able to work with and they can find you short sales, which are homes that are pre foreclosure. There are plenty of those going around. But, you need to be wiling to wait a long time for a short sale to actually settle. They can sometimes take up to 6 months or longer to get to settlement. I hope this helps - Fri May 9 2008, 14:59