Reasons Why a Home Will Not Sell − Even In a Hot Market

By ROBERT RADCLIFFE | Special to the Palisadian-Post

PART I IN A SERIES

Reason #1: Price

I am sure you guessed price as being at least one of the reasons why a home will not sell. The biggest mistake any seller or their agent can make is listing a home well above fair market value.

In order to price a home properly, you and your agent will need to thoroughly review a Comparative Market Analysis. The purpose of the CMA is to determine the price value of your home. A CMA gives you the data for homes comparable to yours that have recently sold, pending (in escrow) and currently available on the market.

The CMA results will support how the agents, appraisers and most importantly buyers are going to determine your home’s value.

Keep in mind, all of the prices of homes that have already sold were determined by your former neighbors and their buyers – not by you or your agent.

It is important to understand that recent sales activity is what creates “the market.”

The true definition of value: “What a willing and able homeowner will sell their home for and what a capable buyer will pay for it.”

Remember, “You have one chance to make a first impression.” When a homeowner tries to test a price and lists their home too high, it usually backfires. Inevitably, all the agents and their buyers will label your home as overpriced and unrealistic.

Buyers and agents will step back after your home has been introduced to the market and see if someone else will buy it. When no one does, all of these buyers and their agents believe they are validated that your home was over-priced.

If you are lucky, one or two buyers will come back and try to chisel you down in price. The biggest problem you will now encounter is the rest of the pack – the buyers and their agents – have now moved on to the other homes that have come on the market.

Remember, everyone is more interested in the “new guy in town,” not “yesterday’s news.” You cannot afford to miss this one opportunity to price your home properly to start. The advantage of pricing your home properly – or even just below fair market value – from the get-go is that you will experience all the benefits of multiple offers:

• A bidding war can possibly be created, therefore driving the ultimate sales price up, sometimes higher than the asking price.

• You get to choose the best buyer for your escrow based on terms.

• When a buyer knows they bought your home while it was “hot,” that buyer will be very likely to perform as agreed through escrow.

Based on the ABC’s of pricing, you can’t go wrong.

Here is one final note on pricing your home. Check your motivation for selling. After you review how the market will value your home, you may no longer have the desire to sell.

It is not advisable to “test the waters.” Simply experimenting to see if you can get “Your Price” – not fair market price – will just frustrate and inconvenience you. At the same time, it will tarnish your home’s reputation in the marketplace as being a home that did not sell when available.

See upcoming articles for additional reasons why a home will not sell.

For a free Comparative Market Evaluation of your home to determine the Fair Market Value, call Robert Radcliffe of The Radcliffe Group at Sotheby’s International Realty 310-255-5454 or visit www.PacificPalisadesHomeReport.com.