I was watching NBC’s today show today and was impressed with a quick segment titled “The Deadly Sins of Home Sellers.” A lot of great info. packed in a short and sweet T.V. interview with realtor expert Barbara Cocoran. I thought I would share those deadly sins one by one paraphrasing Barbara’s advise as well as adding insight from my “real life real estate experience.”
A lot of seller’s are making some mistakes right now and in a buyer’s market, those mistakes could cost you. As a seller, you must detach yourself (as much as possible) and look at the situation from the outside. So I will try to save you from making these deadly sins or at least repent before it is too late.
Deadly Sin #1
Being Insulted By a “Low Offer”
Some seller’s are insulted by a buyer’s low offer. In a buyer’s market, buyers almost feel obligated to put in a low offer. As a seller, you don’t know if they can come up in price or if they are just what some people call “bottom feeders”. Either way, it is worth putting aside your pride to find out. After all, sellers are the one beholden to buyers right now. A seller should play the game, counter until a price is found where both buyer’s ad seller’s are comfortable. A couple statistics supporting this advise: Four out of five buyers come up in price. And most of the time, the first offer a seller receives is the best.
In Park City, as of today, there are 560 properties for sale. Buyers have a lot of options. As a buyer it almost seems irresponsible to not TRY to get the best deal possible. There are seller’s out there willing to deal and if a buyer pays too much, they are upside immediately.
A month ago, I received a call from a buyer’s agent who said her client was preparing an offer on a condo which I had listed. The realtor said the offer although strong was not for list price. I told her my client and I looked forward to seeing the offer. My client’s response to the news was for me to tell the buyer’s agent not to waste her or the buyer’s time. She wanted nothing less than list. Against my advice, I followed my client’s request. My client was emotional about the money she had “lost” already by not selling the condo a few years ago when the market was “hot.” The buyer moved onto another very similar condo in the same development and closed quickly. The irony of this, is that this sold price became the most recent comparable and set a precedent for future offers. So my client’s condo became less valuable just based on the comparable anyway. For example, my client’s condo was listed for 499,000. The sold condo in the same development was listed for $497,000. It sold for $485,000. Given this recent comparable, what buyer would offer more than 485,000 for a very similar property in the same development? My own client committed the first deadly sin, “Being insulted by a Low Offer.”
I will continue with another blog entry about deadly sins home seller’s commit. Stay tuned….
Tags: Add new tag, park city and heber real estate market, secrets of selling a home in park city and heber, selling your home techniques
Avg. Sales Price: 379,000
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