If you need to sell your home, don't make this mistake!

So, I'm perusing through the MLS listings in my area of expertise, West Sacramento, and getting a little frustrated. I see listings that are grossly overpriced or underpriced. By that I mean $30k or more off the mark in either direction. I'll give agents $20k +or- leeway just to be generous. Since I'm very familiar with the West Sac housing market, it's really obvious to me when the price doesn't fit.

SELLERS: This is a mistake I've seen made all too often: sellers choose an agent who doesn't specialize in the area. If you are a seller who NEEDS to sell, like a short sale listing, for goodness sake, you cannot afford to make this mistake. What normally happens, if a home is priced too low, is it goes pending immediately. Then, months later, it's withdrawn and becomes a foreclosure. Why? Because the bank won't approve a short sale that's not in line with market value-- at least somewhat! On the other hand, if it's priced too high, no one even looks at it. If you're a seller who simply needs to sell, price it right on day one, otherwise you chase the market making reductions, and that is frustrating and disheartening. Buyers who are watching a particular area to purchase are the first to view a new listing. If your home is overpriced, they won't bother even looking... and they are serious buyers! Sellers, did you know you can ask an agent to print out their sales record? I have a client who found out that their original agent had never sold a home, ever.

AGENTS: Listing a home 50k under market value... uh, seriously? It must feel good to get a zillion offers on your new listing, but you are doing a major disservice to your sellers and the buyers who are looking at the property and writing offers. To those who are inadvertantly overpricing listings, it's not that hard to run a Comparative Market Analysis. I'm not talking about a Citywide CMA, but rather just the neighborhood. In West Sacramento, different neighborhoods have different value(s). Some neighborhoods don't have Mello Roos assessments. That's a huge value. Some subdivisions are built by the most entry-level builder and shouldn't be compared to the "top 'o the line" builder who included all the bells and whistles. We agents should be familiar with the nuances of a particular housing market before we call ourselves a local expert.

SIDENOTES: Usually, the agent who is guilty of over or under pricing, advertises as a short sale expert or local expert or area expert. The agent often doesn't know how to deal with the bank's negotiators when they come back with a BPO in line with (and sometimes over) market value. Instead of sending the bank comps with justification for the price, the underpricing agent goes to the buyer and says "the bank wants another 50k". Now that's a hard sell! The end result is, unfortunately, usually FORECLOSURE. Ever looked up the "solds" of some of the so-called short sale experts-- ONE CLOSED SHORTSALE. Wow, is that all it takes to be an expert? What about the local or area expert? Selling one or two homes in a particular area does not an expert make. Agents should be consistently selling in the area they call themselves an expert in. If they aren't selling consistently, they probably aren't tuned in to the area very well.

Now there may be some agents out there reading this and getting huffy. Take a deep breath hot stuff. Some professed experts are experts. I acknowledge that. I also understand that some short sales go to foreclosure even though the agent did everything right. I'm not talking to you. You see, I recognize that the agents that are engaged in Active Rain are all awesome real estate experts who are just reading this for entertainment purposes. Enjoy a chuckle on me...