Cecil Duarte

Here are some of the most common mistakes- I see sellers make in a down market, along with ways to
avoid them:
• Pricing it too high or testing the market: As a Real Estate professional along with others in the
business- the key to selling a house is to "price it right” at the beginning. Setting the wrong asking price can
cost you real money,frustration, stress and valuable time. In a buyers' market, it doesn't matter what you or
your Realtor® think your house is worth; the only thing that matters is what a buyer thinks and is willing to
offer. Sellers fear pricing too low and leaving money on the table, but there is little danger of doing this. If a
home is priced too low, far below the competition, then you should receive multiple offers that will drive up
the price to the fair market value. I strongly believe that I would rather have my sellers countering offers than
to be sitting on the fence just waiting for an offer. Where do you want to be? Get to the negotiation table and
see if a win-win situation can be ironed out. Better this, like I said, than to be wondering or blaming your
Realtor® that nobody showing up to view your home. The market within 30 days will tell you, by the activity
– whether your home is priced for action or NOT.
You don't want to over-price your house, because buyers will then ignore it and your listing will loose its
freshness and appeal, not to mention the uncompensated effort of keeping the home spotless during the
showings.
Also, the "original listing price" and "current asking price" are on your home's Multiple Listing Service listing,
and some buyers will see it as a sign that you have unreasonable expectations of what you can fetch for
your home. Our MLS system here in Phoenix recently removed DOM (days on market ) from the general
view of the public to help sellers get homes sold. It is still obtainable but now your Buyer’s Agent has to dig a
little more to find it under the Archived Historical report available only to a Licensed Realtor®. Buyers would
use the days on market as their gauge of if a house was worth looking at or not. More days on the markettells
them that if others did not want this house, then they must be missing something about the home or the
area and will just skip viewing it all together for the fear that they do not want to be the unlucky ones that
bought a home no one else wanted. Days on the market are so crucial in this buyers market.
Look at the listings for every comparable home that is or was listed in your neighborhood in the past six
months. Compare similar properties, make adjustments for locations, age, upgrades and lot sizes, and come
up with a range of values (this is why you hire a Licensed Realtor®). Most buyers search the Internet and
buy a home within 12 miles of their existing home — so use the Internet tools available in your area to see
what the supply of homes for sale looks like near you. Also, if you are working with a Realtor®, don't choose
to list with the one who suggests the highest listing price; rather, select a listing agent who can back up his
or her proposal with the most facts, market research and experience. In this market right now-
EXPERIENCE is KEY and that agent that can be up front with you and also come up with a marketing plan
to expose your home is your best bet. Don’t settle for that Discount Broker who will give you Discounted
Services- YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR and right now – pricing it right and getting it exposed is vital and
the only key to getting your home sold.
When setting the listing price for your house, use odd numbers, in increments of $5,000. Most buyers use
the Internet to search for a home. When searching by price, they typically search in increments of $5,000.
So, listing at a price of $249,971 will turn heads and get attention as to why is this home listed at this price. It
certainly distinguishes you from the hundreds of homes that are traditionally priced at $250,000. Don’t you
think?
• Making a poor first impression: Real estate pros often talk about "curb appeal." Homes with curb
appeal sell more quickly and those without it can languish on the market longer, further eroding the price
buyers are willing to pay. Realtors® often comment on the number of homes that are put on the market with
little or nothing done to improve their curb appeal. In my years of experience , "Most buyers know the house
is 'THE ONE” when they see it for the very first time in person even after having viewed or found it on the
Internet. No different that you when you are showing for lets say a car online. Do you chose the one that
shows dull and no spark or do you gravitate towards that shiny and glamourous looking model? If the
buyers make a connection on the first showing, it's sold."
For this reason, doing what it takes to get your house in selling shape is the second most important factor,
after setting the correct price, if you want to get close to your asking price or sell as quickly as possible.
Inexpensive things you can do to increase your home's curb appeal and help it show better include:
• Sprucing up the yard, sweep the walk, mow the lawn, prune the shrubs, and clean up debris. Green up
your grass if you have any or rake the gravel rocks if that is your appeal for landscaping.
• Clean the windows, floors, carpets, the kitchen, appliances, the bathroom, and even wash the windows.
· Installing plug in through out the home (not too many- for you do not want to overpower the sense of
smell) is a huge plus- someone waliking into a home that smells good and fresh and clean sends off signals
of well being and a sense that this home makes them feel good
• Paint the front door, walls leading to entranceways, ceiling stains, cracked or chipping areas.
• Fix or repair broken doorbell, leaky faucets, broken floor or counter tiles, door that don't close properly,
and broken deck railings.
• Organize all rooms, closets and the basement.
• Set the stage by removing pets and litter box, , playing background music (light jazz is very soothing and
pleasing to a lot of folks), rearranging and removing excess furniture, even baking something to get the
pleasant aroma from the oven!
The industry term for doing this is "staging a house" and, as you can imagine, it goes far beyond decorating
and cleaning. But doing this can result in selling your home more quickly and getting a higher price, I know
that as a fact since I help my clients stage their homes before going live in the MLS. It is in my opinion the
second most important thing to do to sell your home quickly and for top dollar- PRICE is # 1..
If you don't have the time or would prefer to have someone trained and objectively do this for you, ask your
Realtor® to refer you to a Professional home stager. Some realtors are bombarded with flyers or emails of
this wonderful service. You can also learn more and locate a professional home stager at
www.stagedhomes.com.
• Not getting a pre-sale inspection: Sellers are strongly advised to consider getting a pre-sale home
inspection, especially if their home is older or in need of repairs. This way, they can either use a clean home
inspection report as a selling advantage, or take care of the repairs listed on the inspection report. Of
course, make the repairs before listing the home, if possible, especially if they involve things that can be
messy and unsightly, such as replacing the roof or removing an old water heater or replacing a new A/C
unit. But if you can't make the repairs, you can use the report to make estimates available to show potential
buyers about the cost of repairs.
• Not being flexible: In this market, buyers will expect to pay less than the asking price. They will be armed
with the original list prices and final sales prices of comparable homes, and will know the price reductions
other sellers are accepting. Many buyers may make a low-ball offer to see what your reaction is. Remember
to keep emotions out of it — your objective is to sell the house and, if they are truly interested, there is a
higher price they may be willing to pay. Don't simply reject their offer; instead, make a reasonable counteroffer
and send the message that you want to work with them to close the gap between their offer and the
price you need to get for the house. Like I said earlier it is better to get to the negotiation table than to just sit
and wait and sit on the fence.
Also, have your Listing agent /Realtor®ask the buyers or their agent what information they used to
determine the price they offered and why they want to buy your house. For example, say the buyers
respond that they based their offer on comparable price per square footage for two other listings. If your
house includes upgrades and a finished basement that the other listings don't have, include an explanation
of the cost of your upgrades and the additional value per square foot with your counter-offer. Again this does
work a lot of times but know that buyers are out here with a mindset that THEY want a deal and will walk
away from counter offers if they feel there are more fish to fry out there in the real estate ocean of sellers.
If you have any questions or comments – I can be reached at cecilduarte@cecil.com or visit my website at
www.cecilduarte.com . I am a Licensed Real Estate Broker in the Phoenix market and have been serving the entire Valley
of the Sun from Surprise to Queen Creek and from Scottsdale to Chandler and all surrounding cities for the last 16 years.
We also have a full Property Management Division at Serving Valleywide Realty that is here to help with any Property
Management need- Check us out at www.valleywidepropertymanagement.com