Are you thinking of selling? We’ve discussed preparing your home for sale here:
What can you expect once it hits the open market?
FIRST DAY
Buyers jump on the attractive listings the first day they hit the MLS. Provided that the listing gets imputed early in the morning, you should get calls/showings on the first day. If you don’t get calls, it’s because the photos are bad, the satellite view doesn’t look right, and/or your price is wrong.
FIRST WEEK
You’ll know if your listing is hot if you are getting showings and offers during the first week. Don’t be shocked – anxious buyers react quickly.
Do you live in the house? It would be a good time to take a vacation – especially if you have little kids (just stay near your email for electronic signatures). Agents will want to show your house with little or no notice, and having to keep the house clean and tidy at all times is a hassle – let alone wanting to leave the house for each showing. Make sure your agent has an effective video tour available, and conducts open house right away to help satisfy some of the curiosity.
SECOND WEEK
Showing start to taper off, and the listing is going stale. You’ll see that the average time-on-market is currently 95 days for active listings of houses in San Diego. But that’s not when the magical offer suddenly appears – it is the average time it takes for sellers to get their price right.
30 DAYS or LONGER
You haven’t had many, if any showings over the last few weeks, so the writing is on the wall – your price isn’t a match for today’s market. Either wait it out and hope the market improves, or lower the price by 5%. Everyone knows that if you lowered your list price by 5% to 10%, it’s likely that you’d still sell it for more than it’s ever been worth. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.
There are agents who refresh their listings every month, and it’s not a bad idea because some buyers and their agents aren’t paying attention. But you’re not fooling the majority.
WHEN TO MAKE A DEAL
You have reached maximum exposure by the fourth day on the market.
If you have an offer or offers, then negotiate promptly and strike a deal. Why? Well, yes, there might be two in the bush, but the most motivated buyers have already stepped up, and they don’t like their offer being shopped around. Their enthusiasm starts to wane a day or two after they make an offer, as does their willingness to pay top dollar.
The market’s holiday lull is over. New listings will be popping up nearby that dilute your chances, and the longer you’re on the market, the lower buyers expect you to go. Your value is dropping at least $1,000 per day in their mind.
WHEN TO WAIT
Seven of the 24 NSDCC houses that went pending during Christmas week had been on the market for more than 140 days – and that’s not counting the relists. If you don’t have any offers, and don’t feel like lowering your price, then waiting for the ‘lucky sale’ is your option.
The unique, premium houses have the best chance of a lucky sale. If you are selling a run-of-the-mill tract house, then pricing is more rangebound. Buyers will want to lowball to make room for remodeling and keep their investment value within the neighborhood’s range. Monitor the new listings nearby that hit the market after yours – if their list prices are exceeding yours, then you’ll look more like a deal every day. If not, then they are just using yours to sell theirs.
We saw HERE that pricing didn’t get better last year during the spring selling season. Keep the big picture in focus – if you can net $500,000 and close in 30 days, don’t hold out for $510,000 and risk no sale. Get Good Help!
