I am on vacation in Highlands, NC and posting this from my Blackberry. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
I am reading “Shift – How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times” by Gary Keller while on vacation. There was an interesting section on pricing in the book. It is good to reaffirm what I already believe. Here are some interesting tidbits:
…in every market, in every time, there are two markets – one where properties are priced to sell and another where properties are priced to sit. A seller is either in the market or out of it. And unlike a sellers’ market where time on the market can pull overpriced homes back into the market, after a downshift, every day just pushed overpriced homes farther and farther out of the market.
Research supports the fact that sellers and buyers are typically out of sync with the realities of the market. In a sellers’ market, sellers tend to dwell in the future and buyers in the past. Sellers want to push prices up and buyers want to hold the line. In a buyers’ market, buyers want to place themselves in the future and sellers want to dwell in the past. Buyers want to push prices down and sellers want to hold the line. The net result is a chasm between a buyer’s and seller’s perception of what a home is currently worth.
I recommend this book and think Realtors should read it. I have been in situations where it is uncomfortable bringing the seller down to reality when it comes to pricing their home. But, it really is the best thing to do from the get go. There is just way too much work in representing a seller to take an overpriced listing that will never sell.
Tags: Pricing home, selling home, Shift, unrealistic sellers
