Hmm...Like you said, it will be personal preference and financial necessity on the part of the buyers on which house they will ultimately choose. The houses (and prices) are very different.

If anything, I would highlight the differences your house has. I would try to make my smaller home feel as "cozy" and "welcoming" as possible. I'd pull the ol' fresh-baked cookies trick and offer them at the table with some fresh sun tea or lemonade and glasses.

I would ensure all windows that view your land are as clean as possible and showcase the yard. Open any blinds/drapes all the way.

My goal, if it were my home that I was selling, would be to show the prospective buyers that this is all the home they need, plus more...for far less than the competition.

Good luck!

Have you made sure you've arranged the furniture etc. to make the home appear as spacious as possible? Open every blind/drape etc. Try to highlight any features your home does and the other doesn't. Not sure what they are so can't be specific.

What did you do for the previous showings? Ie that would help rule out what else you can do this time.

Good Luck!!

revamp,
Oh yeah, the "cookie" smell!! That is a good one, thanks!
lyfia,
We usually have things looking pretty darn nice, yard, the deck, inside too....maybe I will get fresh flowers. I have an indoor plant arrangement but fresh flower can't hurt! Thanks for the suggestions!

How about an extra sheet that lists all the additional things that are great about your place that isn't on the realtor's flyer? If your school district has a great rating, if you are next to a high end community but yours has lower taxes, great town services, whatever you can think. Of course those also apply to your neighbor so things that apply to just your house, things about the layout or yard that worked particularly well for you.

Nice post, twotogo. I was thinking about this very subject the other day with regard to my own home. There are more than 70 homes for sale in several communities in my area in the price range $225 - $275,000. I spent a few hours the other day studying all of their photos online, and the truth was that all of the homes were pretty much the same -- some were two stories, some were tri-levels, some single stories, older, newer, but all were 3-bedroom, 2-or 2-1/2 bath,bland, home-for-sale decorating. I kept thinking, "what could I do to make my home different?" We've already updated both our bathrooms and our kitchen, and we had already dropped our price $10,000 below the next lowest priced home in our semi-custom community, making ours the most affordable (but it is still $30,000 more than many in surrounding cheaper built communities.)

You said, "this is really all out of our control" and I think you are right to remember that. There are so few good buyers out there in most parts of the country. In our area, there are hardly any showings. Mostly it is just comes down to price. You are already priced $50,000 below the other home. The way you described the other place, if one had $50,000 extra to spend, it is likely they would go for the other home. If their budget is tighter they will buy yours.

In my community, all of the other 7 or 8 homes for sale are larger and nicer than mine. But ours is budget-priced and all I can do is wait for someone to come along who wants to live in our very desirable community at a budget price. My agent was sure that when we dropped our price last week, we would have a flurry of activity. We didn't. We had one appointment for a showing, and they turned out to be a no-show. Oh well.... Our buyer is out there somewhere, sometime.

Good luck to you -- I hope the buyers choose your home

kit2007,
The same thing happened or didn't happen, to us last week when we dropped our price for the second time! We thought sure it would bring a "flurry" of people, however, we saw alot of flyers taken out of the box. The people that are coming today looked at our home before our last price drop.
Anyway, I will be "spiffin'" up the best I can and pray for an offer!!!!!
Thanks again for all the support :)

You gotta remember lots of folks are in vacation mode right now. Meaning they've put the whole buying a house idea on hold till after vacation is over and they are back in the groove of things.

You've also got lots of folks who are waiting on foreclosures. Banks as much as they are complaining about the number of homes they've gotten back are not moving that fast to sell them.....least around here.

It's a waiting game. Best ya can do is make sure you've checked off all the boxes. Meaning the place is CLEAN and well maintained.

Other than that you've got no control.

Just had a little "boost" from my agent when I emailed her to say how nervous I am. She replied, "All I can say is, I was there and saw how they responded to your home. I just don't think they will have that emotional connection with this other house." Anyway, I will report back if I have any news!!!
Thanks to all!!!

Remember that bigger isn't always better, especially if they are thinking about utility costs. Some people have the philosophy that they want to actually use all the space they have and not buy lots of rooms, or bigger rooms, just because they can. If nicer amenities means things like granite with huge professional cook ranges, not everyone likes granite and some people might find that range intimidating!

twotogo, can't wait to hear how it went for you today. I hope you are busy right now negotiating your contract with buyers.

kit

Well, it's not bad news but it's not an offer yet either......Our agent called after both showings and having lemonade and cookies on our deck :) She said the couple thought the other house may be too big for just the two of them but they did like it. They would like to see a history of our utility bill and the cost of our homeowner's insurance. I am so exhausted mentally and physically that I just feel kind of "numb" about the whole thing. Sounds like it could still go either way, however, I am pretty confident our utility bill will be much lower than the other place.; insurance too probably. Thanks kit for the kind words!

That sounds like good news to me, and what I like about these potential buyers is that they seem practical and cautious. If they end up making an offer on your home it sounds as if it will be a well thought out and 'good' one that won't end up going down the drain (because of change of heart, financing, etc.)

I understand the numb and exhausted feelings. It's hard to stay upbeat and excited day after day, hour after hour, when it's all not really over until closing day.

Wishing you good luck!

Well, that offer never happened and then I had an email from our agent and she said the couple made an offer on the other home; however, she said she didn't think they were that 'wild' about the place so they really made a low ball offer and the people didn't accept it. They just weren't the right ones!
We had a showing today but haven't heard anything.....