Why Philadelphia Homes Do Not Sell ? Part 4 - PRICE
This is Part 4 and the last part os our series of Why Philadelphia Homes Do not Sell. For the prior 3 posts, plese see:
1. Poor Advertising and Insufficent Marketing
2. Stigma
3. Difficulty Showing the Property
We saved PRICE for last as it is the most obvious and the most important. Yet, it is the one where both listing agents and sellers make mistakes on year after year. Many times, an incorrectly priced property could be the result of an inexperienced agent improperly pricing the property or a seller having unrealistic expectations in terms of the value of his property. Either way, this mistake in the last 2 to 3 years have caused sellers to lose a lot of money. As the market has depreciated in most areas, the average sales price in most states and cities is down year over year so the seller who held out for a higher price a year ago will receive a much lower price today.
It is critical for agents to be honest and firm in communicating and recommending a starting price point to the seller. Often times, inexperienced agents will "buy the listing" in terms of recommending the price the seller wants to hear or saying they have preapproved buyers for that price waiting around the corner to have them sign with them. Sellers need to be very wary of this...
Secondly, once the listing is taken, the price needs to be analyzed and adjusted quickly if the market calls for it. For example, if there are not a certain number of showings per week or after "X" number of showings and there are no deals or potential offers, an adjustment may need to be made to the listing price. It is imperative that the listing agent is in constant communication with the seller to revisit the strategy every 2 weeks or so depending on the situation.
Lastly, another important point is that it does not matter how much marketing and advertising is being done for a property, if the price is too high, the property will not sell. In essence a lot of that marketing may just go to waste. As a seller you do not want to waste that "sweet spot" of your listing which we refer to as the first 30 to 45 days on the market.
SOLUTION: A seller and her listing agent should identify the best starting price from the very begining and adjust the price when needed. We also recommend sending a weekly showing report to the seller which tracks showings and feedback received. This report is the basis that we use to discuss the pricing strategy with our seller clients.
Related Post:
5 Ways to Recommend Price Reductions to Sellers
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