For SellersReal Estate September 29, 2011

5 Ways to Tell Your Home is Priced Too High

Your home has been on the market for more than 30 days. Is your home overpriced?

Home

Here are good some ways to tell if your home is overpriced:

  • No one comes to see your home.  Since everything is online now, buyers decide which homes they want to see, sharing this information with their broker before they even get in the car.  The buyers have calculated cost per square foot, looked at the photos, checked out the location, access to public transportation, the schools, etc.   If a home seems overpriced for what it offers when compared to the competition, the buyer or the Realtor may nix the showing. The buyer may never come to see your home.
  • A lot of buyers come see your home, but only for one showing.  There are no second showings.  This means buyers have ruled your home out for what could be many reasons (see below) and don’t believe the value is there to make an offer.  The buyers have already moved on to other homes.
  • None of the showing agents call to ask questions, which means their buyers do not have an interest in your home.  They’ve ruled out your home because it is not value priced.
  • Your home is too dark, too small, lacking a bedroom, etc.  No one expects you to add to your square footage or change anything structurally, but if this is the feedback,  your home is not matching the asking price.  Buyers  compare your home to other homes for sale.  They have an expectation of what a home should offer at a certain price point.  If your home is smaller, has smaller rooms, lacks a bedroom, is darker, etc., compared to the competition, then it’s overpriced and will only make the competition look good.  You can’t change these things about your home, but you can change the price to eliminate some of these objections.   Years ago I had a home listed for a higher price than I recommended to the seller.  There were a number of showings in which the feedback was negative. The seller was devastated. He had a well maintained home with a beautiful sun room addition and  gorgeous landscaping.    As soon as the price was reduced, the feedback changed.  Buyers and agents thought the home was fabulous.  Nothing about the house had changed, only the price.  With the new price, came terrific feedback and an offer.
  • Other homes are selling, but your home is not.  If nearby homes and homes in the general price range are selling, and your home is not, then it’s overpriced.

By no means is this a complete list of why homes are overpriced.  There are many other reasons as to why a home does not sell because of price, can you add to this list?