ADJUST LISTING PRICE TO REFLECT MARKET FLUXUATIONS

When a seller lists their home on the market it is natural for them to list for the highest possible price they can expect. Of course in the beginning of the listing the vendor and the real estate salesperson are quite optimistic of their expectation of receiving the list price. Now, in a perfect, world one can only hope that this listing price is attainable.

However, as time goes on and the market changes ever so slightly, maybe everyones expectations are remaining rather over confident in still trying to obtain the original listing price. As an example, say the property was listed on May1,2010 but 2 months goes by and the vendor finds himself missing selling his home in the hot Spring season and now he is facing the very busy summer season when most families go to the cottage or on a long holiday, and just are not around to buy their home. What do they do?

The home is in excellent shape, staged very well and in a good location. So what is the problem? Both the vendor and the agent know but neither are necessarily prepared to admit it. Well Folks, this is where tough love comes in. It is the agents responsibility to suggest to the vendor that maybe we really were too optimistic in our expectations as to what your home would sell for. Thus, Mr. Vendor, I dislike saying this but as the market has cooled of late, we would be smart to reduce the price to see if we can attract some buyers in say the next lower category; i.e. if the home was listed for $325,000 it is likely one would have to reduce the asking price to at least $314,500. After 60 days on the market one really should have received at least one offer. Otherwise, the hand writing is on the wall. The property has to be overpriced and to delay any longer would only result in reducing the price even more at a later date when the market is even much slower. Of course, there is another option, if the vendor is not in a hurry, he could always wait until next Spring and try again. The danger with this school of thought is that the market could take a substancial downturn a year later.

Well folks, it is really not a perfect world so we must adjust as we experience the hard knocks of reality by seeing the results of our own decision process in the making. If we are unable to own up to making a mistake sooner then later, we could end up " reaping what we sow".