I just sold a condo that I had listed for about 5 months. The reason it took so long to sell was not the neighborhood (several other very similar units sold in the same development during that time), it wasn’t the marketing (I had at least 10 Open Houses during the time and advertised in print and online), and it wasn’t the unit itself. It was the price.
We started at $9000 more than my comparables suggested it would sell for. Two price reductions and 5 months later we finally got an offer, which still wasn’t full price. After negotiations were all said and done, the house sold for $3000-$4000 less than it would have if it was priced correctly and since the home was vacant, the seller spent money on taxes and association fees that wouldn’t have been necessary had it been priced correctly.
Why was it priced high to begin with? The seller said she “had” to get that amount for the home because “it was the nicest unit in the development and I don’t want to give it away.” Alas, buyers had a different opinion (as they do with most sellers) and that was shown by the fact that others in the development sold when our listing did not.
All the open houses, awesome photos, great brochures, strong advertising and networking will not sell a house that’s substantially overpriced. Simply put, Buyers do not need to negotiate with unrealistic Sellers; there are more than enough homes for sale today that they can find one that meets their needs with a Seller willing to be reasonable. Unfortunately that is a hard lesson for many Sellers to learn.
