Both sellers and listing agents get over-zealous when they witness mobs of buyers flocking to see their new listing – it boosts their confidence that a retail (or retail-plus) sale is imminent.
Question their price, and you’ll hear, “Well, we’ve had lots of showings!”, as if that means something in an environment of low inventory – of course you have had lots of showings, there isn’t anything else to see.
My old rule-of-thumb was that lots of showings but no offers meant that you were 5% to 10% wrong on price.
But today’s buyers are looking at anything and everything that might be close – which means if you are selling and having plenty of showings but no offers, then you are probably closer to being 10% wrong on price. (Or your local market is fading).
What else could it mean?
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You have a significant defect that isn’t that obvious by looking at the listing. If it is something you can fix (carpet & paint, etc.), you should fix, because buyers don’t mind paying retail for a retail product.
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Agents are using your house to sell the house down the street.
How do you know which is which?
If you are getting repeat visits from the same buyers, then the price is close – hang in there until the better buys nearby are cleared out.
If you are only getting the one-time hit-and-runs, then you have bigger problems. But lowering your price will fix any and all of them!
