On the market for 67 days-not much activity. Any suggestions?

8 years ago

We've been on the market since mid-February. We had a few open houses early on with several people through for each and mostly positive feedback. Realtor open house also received positive feedback and almost all agreed that the house was in the right price range. We did receive an offer after 6 days for $40k less than asking and a contingency to sell. We countered closer to our asking price, but they weren't able to go any higher. We decided to let it go because it was early and we aren't in a huge hurry to sell. Anyway, we've only had about 12 private showings since we've been on the market. Our realtor is telling us that is about average especially since it was winter when we originally listed and people not going out much due to weather etc. Negative comments have been around things we can't change such as 'split entry floor plan, perceived busy road, and backyard not as usable as expected because of the size of the mound system etc.' We've lowered our price by about $13K since then and still aren't seeing much activity even though we're in the spring market. Our realtor added updated outside photos last week since we're starting to see some green grass and leaves finally! Not quite as nice as the original photos taken by the professional photographer but better than showing snow I guess. Based on what you see on the listing, any other suggestions as to why this house isn't selling? The only true comp is our next door neighbors home which sold last year for $240k. It is smaller than ours and the market has improved since then. Should we lower the price again or hold out for a little longer at the current price?

Here is the link: http://www.cbburnet.com/ID/2265082

Sorry this is so long! Thanks in advance!

Featured Answer

pamdonn14

8 years ago

Wow, Sophie, there are ways of giving constructive criticism without sounding so rude. Maybe that style home with one full bath shared by three bedrooms is standard for that area. What is so "horribly unsafe" about the kitchen? Lack of appropriate crown molding? Really?

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Comments (17)

User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I'm in MN as well. We listed about the same time you did and sold right away. We close in 2 days (fingers crossed!).

We are about as far out NW as you are SW. Our neighborhood is pretty average, like yours. The neighborhood next door maybe a has homes more the size of yours, but all in all pretty similar.

Your house looks good. No problem there. Lots of homes for sale look exactly like yours.

The issue I think is the price.

There's a lot of activity out there. Did your realtor set you up with MLS alerts? We watched those carefully for about a year. What we found is that well priced homes sell almost immediately. Overpriced homes don't sell.

People are out there buying, but they are still looking for value. What is your value proposition? I am not seeing it.

There's one home in my neighborhood that they tried to sell last year for about 20% more than comparables. Yes, it had a few more square feet, better landscaping I will admit, and it had a 3 season porch. But people evidently don't care about that because its not selling this year either. The other overpriced home hasn't sold and its been reduced twice.

But 14 homes went up total in the two neighborhoods since January. 10 are sold or pending. The two overpriced ones sit. That leaves just two homes out of 14...I think that is pretty good movement.

I would talk to the realtor again and really take a cold look at the price.

Good luck!
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Kati
8 years ago
Beautiful home! If you're in no hurry to sell, i would leave your price as is. Otherwise, I would lower it closer to the neighbor's selling price.
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cpartist
8 years ago
Your house is staged well and looks good. Only suggestion would be to replace the lace curtain in bathroom and take down the lace mantle cover. Otherwise, great job.

You never want to be the most expensive home in the neighborhood for the reason you're finding out. Your perceived value because it's a little larger is not enough to sway people to spend $30,000 more than comparable homes. Usually the first offer is the best offer. If you had countered with a more reasonable asking, you probably would have wound up settling around the same $240,000 your next door neighbor got.
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pamdonn14
8 years ago
Your house looks great! Clean, uncluttered, neutral colors, updated appliances and I even noticed the way the toilet paper was folded, like in a hotel! The laundry room is awesome too!

My only question is, because it's a split level home, is the square footage on the lower level, valued the same as the upper level? Did the house that sold last year have all of its square footage on upper levels? Your lower level appears to be a walkout, with lots of natural light, which is good, but I'm wondering if people are "discounting" that space when they see it. Then again, if most of the houses in your neighborhood are that style, then it's probably a moot issue.

If I were you, I probably would be tempted to knock the price down a bit more, maybe to $260k, or even $259k.
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cpartist
8 years ago
I'd probably knock the price back to 249,900 and expect to get 245,000. Maybe if you knock the price back, you'll even get a bidding war.
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kats_meow
8 years ago
Truthfully, the house looked dated to me. And, the decor made me feel depressed. I realize the decor doesn't come with the house, but people do look at it and how it makes you feel can be a factor. I don't actually think the house is staged well at all since it looks so dated.

Regardless of any of that, when a house doesn't get much activity over 2 months, there is a good chance that it is significantly over priced.
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User
8 years ago
The layout would be a complete non starter for me, and I suspect others. First off, it's a split entry, and I wouldn't even look at those without them being really really cheap, and me being really really desperate to get into the neighborhood. Only 1 upstairs bathroom shared by 3 bedrooms, with not even a half bath exclusive to the ''master'' is just not going to fly for the most expensive house in the neighborhood. Then there is the horribly unsafe and awkward kitchen layout, the lack of appropriate crown molding, and carpet everywhere.

All of those issues are cured by price. A minor cost reduction won't do it. Not to add a secondary bath, kitchen remodel, and wood floors. You would need to drop down much further than the 240K that your neighbor sold for.
loveumms
8 years ago
pamdonn - I don't think your kitchen is unsafe, it looks like a kitchen to me but I agree that I would probably want to remodel it (new counters at least). It does sound like you might be priced high. There are three things in real estate which sell homes - location, size/layout and price. If you are not getting many showings then it's likely the price. Sorry, it sucks - believe me I understand, we are going to lose at least $30K on our town home.

Can you look to see if there is a stager in your area? We paid $150 for a professional to come to our home and tell us exactly how to stage the home to sell (she also took amazing pictures). I think your home looks nice overall but maybe new pictures and some modern pieces (decor) would help bring buyers in.
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pamdonn14
8 years ago
Loveumms - this is not my house.
AtomicJay007
8 years ago
I have no criticisms of your home. It is clean, tidy, and well cared for. It appears to be comparable to other homes around it - age, style, condition, etc. I don't believe you could ever recoup the costs of doing what some posters are suggesting - kitchen remodel, wood flooring, second bath, etc. Those fixes, while they are likely to make your home sell quicker, are not likely to make you more money or even break even. You may also end up decreasing the buyer pool if your improvements aren't to that buyer's particular taste.

The one suggestion I do like, and that I agree with, is to consider hiring a company to stage your home. They will bring in new furniture and will place it in a manner that makes it attractive to buyers. Please don't take this as a criticism of your current furnishings, it's just an idea to give your home a splash of "new" without extravagant costs.

Now, the big point: Price. Not knowing your local market, I'm not in a position to say whether your home is overpriced or not. However, I will pass along a piece of advice I received from my real estate agent that I followed and my home sold in 1 day. That is, if you are getting a lot of initial interest and showings but no offers, you are simply over priced. The only true way to assess the value of your home is to get a listing of SOLD prices in your neighborhood. From there, you find out what homes are selling on a dollar per square foot basis and apply that to your square footage. That is a good starting point. You have your home listed in the $114/sq. ft. range. What did your neighbor's home sell for on a per sq. ft. basis? If it sold for $100/sq. ft. and you are asking $114/sq. ft., you are over priced. Did the neighbor's home have any upgrades your home lacks? How long was that home on the market?

You state there has only been one sale in your area in the past year, but that the market has improved since then. If there have been no comparable sales, how do you know whether the market has improved in your neighborhood? Some areas in your city may be seeing price increases, but that doesn't mean there are across the board increases. Lenders are still leery of losing money; buyers are leery about paying too much as we saw happened a few years ago.

If I were in your shoes, I'd take the house off the market if you continue to not have any interest very soon, have your realtor conduct an analysis of SOLD prices per sq. ft, relist your home at an adjusted price (supported by the sold comps), and have it professionally staged.
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cpartist
8 years ago
Excellent advice Atomic Jay. I have to agree with everything he said.
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josephene_gw
8 years ago
Staging!!! You have nice furniture but most buyers see it as their parents

Home
charles kidder
8 years ago
Not to beat a dead horse, but if you're house isn't selling, it's priced too high.
nosoccermom
8 years ago
Your house looks very neat and well cared for. For starters, I'd remove the swags everywhere, just leave side drapes. Then consult with a stager or read the advice on houzz on staging.

Who do you think would be interested in buying your house? Then try to make it appealing to that demographics.

Also, is your family room etc. really below ground, i.e. is the above ground square footage correct?

Is this house a comp for yours?

If yes, then you are overpriced.
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blue_jean_baby
8 years ago
The only thing that struck me was that there is a lot of beige happening - maybe a splash of color here and there, a vase or two of flowers perhaps? Or small throw pillows? I think your home is lovely, but I can see a buyer might be overwhelmed by neutral shades.
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tlbean2004
8 years ago
Maybe you could locate the people that put the offer on it earlier and give it to them for the price they offered back then. Although it is still more than $25,000 less than you are currently asking.

On the market for 67 days-not much activity. Any suggestions?

pamdonn14

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