Most agents I know will give a seller a price range during a listing presentation. Somewhere on the scale is where the house should sell, based on what is happening in the market now, not 4 or 5 years ago.
Most sellers understand this basic concept. Along with the parameters of Price, Location and Condition, the unspoken but very important parameter is "timeliness." The sale is "now," not some point in the past.
Despite the simplicity of the concept, every once in a while we run into a seller who uses phrases like; "I'm not going to give it away," or "I'm not going to lose money." I ran into one recently during a listing presentation.
His concept of the value of his house was firmly rooted in 2005. Of course, you remember that late 2005 was probably the high in real estate home values, before the multi-year decline.
He had been living in the house for thirty years, so losing money was really not a consideration. For him though, the value of his house stopped when it peaked around 2005 or 2006. He wouldn't acknowledge the fact that the value of his house did decline since then, along with the rest of the market. No, he didn't lose money, but he did lose uncashed equity.
He wasn't listening to my discussion about comps, so I don't think he really heard my message. After all, if his house was worth that much more in 2005, it was darn well still worth that amount. Take a bite out of the "Reality Sandwich," the market will let him know soon enough.
We parted our ways and I'm sure I'll see his house listed for the 2005 price soon. That's just the way the system works. In the end, the seller sets the price, the agent tries their marketing, and both live with the consequences.
It works better though, when the price is set in the present, not the past, and certainly not in the future.
Richard Iarossi, REALTOR®
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114
410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web: http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com
Annapolis MD Real Estate Specialist
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