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posted
Hey, quick question about pricing our home to sale. We pushed our agent up to price it at about $114 sq ft, now just before listing, I found 7 other listings which are somewhat similar and priced at $133 a sq ft. Its a 3,057 sq ft house so that's a big difference. He's being pretty firm about staying but says he'll re-run the comps, what do you all think? It's more important for us to get as much as we can, not sell as quick as we can.

Thanks!
 
Posts: 1188 | Registered: January 04, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
quarter MOA visionary
Picture of smschulz
posted Hide Post
quote:
It's more important for us to get as much as we can, not sell as quick as we can

...which is the opposite direction of your realtor. Eek
Need I say more?
 
Posts: 22858 | Location: Houston, TX | Registered: June 11, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
I believe in the
principle of
Due Process
Picture of JALLEN
posted Hide Post
Is your home really comparable to the others, size, lot size, views, amenities, quality of improvements, age, etc?

This is the job of appraisers, to review market activity, verify data, form opinions about what the value is likely to be. Even so, there are many surprises.

Mr. Market will tell you if you are wrong, too low or too high.




Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me.

When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson

"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown
 
Posts: 48369 | Location: Texas hill country | Registered: July 04, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Funny Man
Picture of TXJIM
posted Hide Post
You are the boss, he needs to give his advice then let you make the final call. We pushed our realtor to list our previous home $50k higher than she suggested, based on our own market research. We had competing full price offers after the first weekend on the market.


______________________________
“I'd like to know why well-educated idiots keep apologizing for lazy and complaining people who think the world owes them a living.”
― John Wayne
 
Posts: 7093 | Location: Austin, TX | Registered: June 29, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
posted Hide Post
You are hiring a professional who supposedly knows the market and should in theory be able to help you price the house appropriately. At the same time, many realtors have their first loyalty to THE DEAL regardless of whether they are the listing or selling agent.

If I felt strongly that my agent was pushing me to underprice my home and I couldn't convince him to price it where I wanted it, I'd find another agent. I'd be cognizant though that overpricing isn't a good strategy either and markets can turn. This may not be one of those times, but there are times when one is better to sell a little low today rather than price aggressively and sit on the house while the market turns and the value drops significantly.

It is your house and your money. Have your agent justify his pricing to you. If he can't justify his price to your satisfaction and won't use your price, look for a different agent.

YMMV, but that would be my approach.
 
Posts: 6872 | Location: Lost, but making time. | Registered: February 23, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just for the
hell of it
Picture of comet24
posted Hide Post
Agents want to make money. They work on commission. While selling the house for an extra $10,000 is alot to you to your agent it's not that much. Remember they are getting just a small percentage of that extra $10,000.

To them it may be better to sell your house quick and move on to the next one.

Now I don't know anything about your house or your agent. As Jallen points out there is alot more to pricing a house then size and location.

Do your homework and talk to your agent. Decide where to go from there.


_____________________________________

Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain. Jack Kerouac
 
Posts: 16378 | Registered: March 27, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Nature is full of
magnificent creatures
posted Hide Post
If you trust your agent, listen to them. If you feel you do not trust your agent, get a new agent.

Have you signed a contract with them?
 
Posts: 6273 | Registered: March 24, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
Agree with what others have said. In a hot market you have more pricing flexibility. If homes are sitting you definitely don't want to be overpriced. Need to figure out how strong of a seller's or buyer's market you're in. 60k is a big difference to you that likely only generates $3600 more in commissions to be split by both brokers (assuming 3% for each broker which is pretty common). So your agent makes another $1800 (or even less) even at the higher price. Now if your house sells in a month, versus sitting for 3-4...it doesn't look so good for the agents.

If you haven't officially listed and can still shop agents it might be worth a second opinion.
 
Posts: 5691 | Registered: October 11, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
Good info above.

Think of the reverse - the realtor OVER-prices your home just to get you to list with them and it languishes on the market.

Only CLOSED sales matter - not what it lists for. Also - look at how long those higher priced homes have been on the market.

If they have been on the MLS for 210 days - then there is your answer... Big Grin

---------------------------


Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
 
Posts: 8940 | Location: Florida | Registered: September 20, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
I believe in the
principle of
Due Process
Picture of JALLEN
posted Hide Post
In the neighborhood I lived in, the price per square foot for sales ranged from about $450 to nearly $1,500.

You can't go by that alone.




Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me.

When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson

"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown
 
Posts: 48369 | Location: Texas hill country | Registered: July 04, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
Your agent said he is willing to re-run the comps. Let him do that, and then step back and take an HONEST look your property compared to those, taking all factors into consideration (location, acreage, age of roof/windows/HVAC, need for interior renovations/remodeling/updating, landscaping, flood insurance requirements, etc.)

Most homeowners have difficulty eliminating their emotions from the process and taking an objective look at the value of their homes.

There's no question your agent has an interest in selling your home quickly, but after you've cleaned and staged your place for the 10th or 15th viewing appointment, you may realize that you do too.

If you've hired your agent based on his/her reputation in your area, he/she will almost always have a better idea about pricing than you will.
 
Posts: 1073 | Location: Norfolk, VA | Registered: June 09, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of Bob RI
posted Hide Post
The market does not lie. Run the comps (solds) and price accordingly. it's not always as simple as price per sf. Also, when running sold comps take note of days on market to give you an idea of how long it should take when priced right.

Make sure you price it right from the start, not necessarily at what you want or need but at what the market will bear....trying to mess with the price later is less than optimal. Good Luck!
 
Posts: 4518 | Registered: January 22, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just because you can,
doesn't mean you should
posted Hide Post
You need to look at recent sales, how prices are trending, not just present listings.
A lot of people do what you did and look at others nearby. Then they decide that theirs is nicer and should be more. Meanwhile, they all sit there unsold.
Get a competent appraiser that does local work. Ask for some names from your banks mortgage lender.
Even if you find someone to buy at your higher price, it needs to appraise or the deal will blow up they get their earnest money back and you'll have wasted a lot of time.


___________________________
Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible.
 
Posts: 9456 | Location: NE GA | Registered: August 22, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Caribou gorn
Picture of YellowJacket
posted Hide Post
Go see some of the homes that are on the market, too, and see if they are really comparable.

Always err on pricing too high, imo. But be ready to reduce price quickly (within a week or two.)

The attention your home gets will tell you quickly if you priced correctly.



I'm gonna vote for the funniest frog with the loudest croak on the highest log.
 
Posts: 10472 | Location: Marietta, GA | Registered: February 10, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Lawyers, Guns
and Money
Picture of chellim1
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by JALLEN:
Is your home really comparable to the others, size, lot size, views, amenities, quality of improvements, age, etc?

This is the job of appraisers, to review market activity, verify data, form opinions about what the value is likely to be. Even so, there are many surprises.

Mr. Market will tell you if you are wrong, too low or too high.

Listen to JALLEN.
If it were me, I would rather error on the slightly high side. It's easier to come down than up... but don't let it languish.



"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible."
-- Justice Janice Rogers Brown

"The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth."
-rduckwor
 
Posts: 23944 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: April 03, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of sig sailor
posted Hide Post
You've gotten a lot of good advice above. Just want to add that in my 21 years in the real estate market the thing that sellers often fail to realize is that what they need has no baring on the market value of the property.
Best of luck,
Rod


"Do not approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction." John Deacon, Author
 
Posts: 1673 | Location: Between Rock & Hard Place (Pontiac & Detroit) | Registered: December 22, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Sig209:
Good info above.

Think of the reverse - the realtor OVER-prices your home just to get you to list with them and it languishes on the market.

Only CLOSED sales matter - not what it lists for. Also - look at how long those higher priced homes have been on the market.

If they have been on the MLS for 210 days - then there is your answer... Big Grin

---------------------------


THIS. Just because they're asking much higher prices does not mean they have or will sell for anywhere close to what they're asking. Go on realtor.com, click the recently sold link, then look on the map of the ones that have recently sold within your neighborhood and the prices. Even if you pay for an appraisal, they're not that much, around $400 here, maybe less where your at and that will give you a good idea of what yours is worth.....or talk to a few other realtors and show them the house and see what number they come up with.

Here in FL price per square foot means very little. On the same street I have seen some homes with the same lot go for $225 sq foot and others $400 sq foot. some were dilapitated 1960's liveable houses and others built the same but all remodeled.
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Yeah, that M14 video guy...
Picture of benny6
posted Hide Post
I just sold my home. We took a look at comparable sold homes and listed just under what we thought it was worth, simply because no house in our neighborhood ever sold for as much as we we estimated the house to be valued at. Our house sold for $20k over what the previous highest sold house in the neighborhood sold for a year ago.

If we listed too high, then the house would sit on the market and we'd have to bump the price down which would be on record. Then people would think there's something wrong with the house and it would take longer to sell and we'd get less than what we were hoping for.

We're fortunate to live in a seller's market right now. Sellable homes sell in a day or two and always for more than asking. We had over 50 groups view the house over the course of a 2-day open house (2 hours each day) and we had 12 offers on Friday with cover letters and buyer/family biographies. We listed $1,000 under what we wanted and were offered $11,000 over asking with a healthy sum of earnest money and a hefty down payment on the house.

It can take over a year for a couple to win a bid on a house. There's no time to think it over. Decisions to offer must be made in a matter of hours.

We didn't have time to wait, though. We bought a new construction home and close on it a week after our selling house closes. The timing was perfect.

Tony.


Owner, TonyBen, LLC, Type-07 FFL
www.tonybenm14.com (Site under construction).
e-mail: tonyben@tonybenm14.com
 
Posts: 5373 | Location: Auburndale, FL | Registered: February 13, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
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I was going to mention something about square footage earlier but I'll give you an example of my property. It can be convoluted. I currently have a mostly finished basement with a full bath. Partially remodeled. The basement has no egress windows in the bedrooms, which is now current code. The basement was refinished before the code change and my ownership of the home. My house is worth literally 75-100k less because I don't have those windows in and I didn't have a bathroom refinished. I know this because I just had an appraisal done and I got no credit for the basement features. In my case, my property is worth about $350/sq ft as is! However, if I installed the egress windows and finished the tub my price per sq ft would drop. My square footage would technically double, while the value of my home would only increase around 30% for those additional features.

So, just realize there are small but significant things that can affect pricing, in general, as well as per sq ft.
 
Posts: 5691 | Registered: October 11, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
186,000 miles per second.
It's the law.




posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Sig209:
Good info above.

Think of the reverse - the realtor OVER-prices your home just to get you to list with them and it languishes on the market.

Only CLOSED sales matter - not what it lists for. Also - look at how long those higher priced homes have been on the market.

If they have been on the MLS for 210 days - then there is your answer... Big Grin

---------------------------


Agreed. It is pretty easy to run your own comps. Review closed sales for the last 3-4 months and work from there. Springtime is usually a faster market so perhaps price on the high side of recent good comps, and be willing to entertain offers if you want to sell quickly.
 
Posts: 3248 | Registered: August 19, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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