Getting more annoyed…

[buyorhold]

So, our agent suggested us to list our townhouse at a price 1.5 months ago, insisting that it was the right list price. Now that we have seen no action, we asked her for advice, and she suggests for us to lower our list price by 10%, her reasoning is that the market has gone down around 8-9% since January…

What I do not understand is that, if she knows the market has gone down 8-9% since Jan, why did she insist for us to list our house at such a high price 6 weeks ago? At the time, I had already asked why we do not list at a lower price, and she told me she thought we were pricing just right… but just 6 weeks later, she is suggesting us to drop our list price by 10%???

[aztecnology]

Since you’re the client, paying for services, and making the decisions, why aren’t you blaming yourself…?

[lendingbubblecontinues]

make your neighbors happy…drop your price 30%

[PadreBrian]

Yeah, you are right, 6 weeks ago she could have sold the place. Now…it’s a lil harder. If it’s under 450k you are still okay, just mark it down 10%, which is about right, and hope Uncle Ben lowers the rates in the next week or two. Anything with conventional mortgages should sell a lil better once the rate comes down. Not really a rally, just a tiny bump before banks start dumping even more homes. So far the banks have held steady on their prices reducing things slowly. You just have to be lower than they are.

[bsrsharma]

That is a fairly common Realtor behaviour. Start at high price – pleases you, then ask for reduction if it doesn’t work. But in her (weak) defence, I should add, this is such a cataclysmic time in RE that she is not any better than you in reading markets. My guess would be, as a piggington reader, you are probably better than her! My suggestion is, if she asks for x% reduction, go for 1.5 times that. Unwarranted optimism is a realtor trait.

[Arraya]

I think your first mistake is asking a realtor to price it (no offense to any realtors, some are not experienced at pricing in a down market). Take the pricing into your own hands. Get an appraisal from an experienced appraiser. Ask for as many comps a possible to get a good idea of where pricing is, where it was and where it looks to be going in your neigborhood. Then price ahead of the curve 5-10%, depending on how fast prices are declining in your area.

[bsrsharma]

arraya: It is not a appraisal issue. Even a dumb realtor shows you a pageful of comps. The genius is to predict the direction of motion by reading the market. That is where they are weak – especially if they have not seen a few downturns. My suggestion would be, in these times, hire a realtor who went through the late 1980s cycle. If he/she sold during 1989-1996, they are Kosher. Else, they have no business being your agent.

[Arraya]

Bsharma, I agree with what you are saying. However, I think you are minimizing what an appraiser does. Besides giving you a value and a pageful of comps, they also do a market analysis, which is what is needed in this case. Though, you’re correct, I am sure an experienced realtor could do a much better job than the one in question.

I think we are all in agreement that the current realtor is just pulling numbers out of there a@$….

[guitar187]

buyorhold,

Make sure to project ALL your anger on the realtor. She is certainly the one responsible for waiting until mid 2007 to list your property.

How long have you been a member of Piggington?

[stockstradr]

I think your first mistake is asking a Realtor to price it

I know this may offend some, but I absolutely agree with above statement. Every time I let a Realtor choose listing price, I regretted it, and when I did the comp’s and chose the listing price, it saved me tens of thousands.

One of many examples:

In 2003 I had a Realtor strongly advise my small condo in the far north Chicago suburbs should list for 160k. I could tell she was lying and just wanted her commission FAST.
I then did the comp’s and concluded it should list for 175k.

I had read a book on the “hidden side” of Realtors which explained how they often under-list a home by 5% to yield a quick commission, knowing that it only reduces their commission by a few hundred dollars, but it costs their client tens of thousands

Anyway,
That Chicago Realtor argued with me for 2 hours, and to compromise I finally agreed to list it at 170k.

It sold in 24 hours, for 170k. Also the bidder initially offered 160k. My Realtor suggested I counter at 165k. I ignored that advice also and countered with “the price is 170k, pay it or go away!”

Savings for my ignoring Realtor’s advice: ten grand!
I should have listed that condo for 180k, I could have saved more.

Another thing I’ve seen Realtors do: cherry pick the comp’s so buyer sees a filtered comp list that misleads buyer to list at price Realtor recommends, so Realtor gets commission faster.

I’ve also worked with good ethical Realtors who would never do any of these underhanded things.

One more thing. I had a half-dozen Realtor friends tell me I was CRAZY to sell our San Diego condo in mid-2004, telling me it would continue to appreciate in next few years.

That condo is now worth 25% less, and most of those Realtors had to change careers once they saw real estate market COLLAPSE.

LOL

[bsrsharma]

market analysis

That is like playing football – lots of rules about blocking & tackling. What we have now is fighting in Iraq – try to help a child and you get your face blown up. An analysis doesn't mean a thing in a freefall. An example: Just how do you factor in the fact that most of the buyers may not get financing and drop out? If there are 100 potential buyers who made offers, but only 10 can close eventually, is there a market in the usual sense at all?

[michael]

She’s a realtor – what did you expect.

[lindismith]

buyorhold,
how did you pick your agent?
and, what does your user name have to do with your perspective? (If you know about Piggington, then surely you know to do your homework on a listing price, so do you really need to sell, or are you just testing the market?)
Bugs is an appraiser who posts regularly on here. I think getting him to give you the right price is a good idea.
Also, SD Realtor (Adam) is very honest on here too, and you may want to ask him for help if your agent doesn’t work out.

[donaldduckmoore]

I am not sure what area you are living but the condo (including townhouse) market is dead. There are only few activities throughout the county. This is attributed to extremely limited number of first time home buyers because of the lending restriction.

[one_muggle]

…loan restrictions and the fact that people don’t want to buy those pretty tulips anymore.

BTW Anyone one to buy my Vegas timeshare or Alpaca farm in Oregon? email me at IM2SCRWD@AOL

Seriously, the condo market in SD is simply toxic. I forget the number, but isn’t there a huge new supply coming on the market in the next couple years? And then there is ARMageddon peaking in a year or so.

Get a good realtor, price ahead of the market downturn and get out now. IMHO single family homes might weather the storm somewhat, but condo’s in SD are tulips.
-one muggle

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