FROM BAD NEWS TO GOOD NEWS
FROM BAD NEWS TO GOOD NEWS
Homesellers - this time it really is the market!
by Neil Jenman
If you're selling a property today, good news may be hard to find.
There seems to be just bad news and worse news. The bad news is that prices are falling; the worse news is that agents won't deliver the bad news.
Agents don't want to sit in a home, eye-ball sellers and say, "Your home is worth less than you're asking. And each day it's getting worse. The longer you wait the less you'll get."
The agents know that sellers may retort, "But you told us we could get the price we wanted."
Now the agent is squirming. "Well, yes, I was hopeful you could get that price, but not now. The market's fallen more than I thought it would."
The market! How dare you. We know about agents who use "the market" as an excuse to get sellers to lower their asking prices or accept silly offers from bargain-hunting buyers. We're not falling for that trick.
Well, here's the irony, this time it really is the market.
Over the last few years, there has been plenty of good news for agents and sellers. Even the agents who told the biggest whoppers could ride out of the mess. If a home was worth $500,000 and the agents quoted $600,000, the rising market, like the incoming tide, soon washed away the agents' lies. Serial liars became local heroes.
But not today. Today agents who quote $600,000 on a home worth $500,000 are no longer saved by the rising market. As the boom tide goes out, liars are being exposed. And sellers are being left stranded.
Even agents who tell the truth are being caught. They quote a price they believe to be honest and then, a few weeks later, when the home is not sold, they realise the asking price is too high. The last thing they want to do is eye-ball the sellers and deliver bad news.
Many times, agents just hope that a buyer will come along and pay yesterday's price. But hope is not an effective method of selling a home, especially when yesterday's higher price has gone and tomorrow's lower price is coming.
The number one reason why properties are not selling today is a five letter word - PRICE.
Oh sure, some agents say there are less buyers around, but that's just another excuse to avoid delivering bad news. It's almost always the price. If you don't believe it, consider this: If the asking price was reduced by half, would a buyer be found?
If you really want to sell today, here's the good news: adjust the price and sell today.
Whatever you do, don't allow your property to languish unsold. The longer you wait, the less you'll get. Half price? Surely not. But certainly a lot less than if you adjust the asking price now.
If you are prepared to change the price, you should soon get some good news and be happily sold.
If not, change your agent as well as your price.
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