Dear Mr. and Mrs. Seller,
Thank you for overpricing your home. The other homes sellers in the neighborhood appreciate it, too. Your asking price makes their asking price seem very reasonable. It makes my job easier too, since I won’t be showing your home after asking a couple basic question of my buyer clients. When I am working as a buyer agent, someone representing the buyer in a home purchase, say are 10 homes to see and we are going to pick the top 5 for a particular day, I simply ask;
Me: If there are 5 homes with X number of bedrooms do you want to see any of the homes that have one fewer bedrooms? ”
Home Buyers: We would rather have that extra bedroom for the same price
Me: If there are 5 homes that have X square footage finished, would you like to see smaller homes with the same asking price?
Home Buyers: We would rather have that extra square footage all things being equal.Thanks so much look at all the time you saved everyone.
I am always wondering how some home sellers come up with the asking prices. Homes sell at fair market value. Otherwise they don’t sell. Fair market value is generally thought of as a price that an informed seller and an informed buyer can agree to in a reasonable period of time. Access to home asking prices is a close as the phone in your pocket or purse. Tax appraisal values are just as close. So an informed buyer, even if they like the home will likely not make an offer beyond what those sources are saying unless there is something wonderful about the home that is not part of a public record.
Recent comparable home sale price are the best indicator of what a home is most likely to sell for. Recent home sale prices reflect the overlap of the most a buyer is willing to pay, what the banks will finance, and least amount a seller could get for the home. If a buyer can buy something comparable for less, they will. If a seller can sell it for money, they will sell it for more money.
Good luck to you, Dear Overpriced Home Owners. I changed the salutation to Homeowners, because overpriced homes don’t actually sell. So you will continue to own it. Remember houses sell at fair market value, not what a seller needs, not what a seller would ‘like’to get, nor what a buyer would ‘like’ to pay. Buyers would like to buy your home for next to nothing. Homes do not sell based on seniority of time on market. Unlike a fine wine, houses on the market do no seem more appealing with age. There are always homes coming on the market, and if your home continues to be overpriced, it will keep making other homes sell. And for that, your neighbors with homes for sale say Thank You.