"Why are you selling so CHEAP?!"

A couple of days ago, I was coming back from my morning run.  Feeling great about the fact that I had actually been able to drag myself out of bed at the break of dawn to accomplish this task before the temps hit 100 degrees, my emotional high came to an abupt halt!  A neighbor of mine came marching up to me and started yelling -- which was quite a greeting for so early in the morning!  She said "Why are you selling these houses so cheap!?"

I was stunned to say the least.  She was referring to several homes that I had recently listed and subsequently sold in our neighborhood.  I gently pointed out to her that I was not selling anything "so cheap".   I tried to explain that our current market conditions are not supporting an upward trend in prices, but it is certainly not of my doing. 

As a listing agent, my job is to study the market, make recommendations to my sellers and advise them on where they should be priced in order to sell their home.  I study our local market on a daily basis.  For me to under-price a single home would hurt all of my other sellers in the neighborhood, as well as de-valuing my own property.    Obviously this is something I would never do!  However, as our market has felt the impact of our economic conditions, sellers do have to bend and adjust if they hope to sell. 

I completely understand my neighbor's frustration, and thought that perhaps many other homeowners are feeling the same sense.  Without a sale sign in the front yard, a homeowner does not really have access to the behind the scenes picture of what is going on in a given market.  We are sitting on approximately 8.6 months of housing inventory in my neighborhood, which definitely means buyers have plenty to choose from.  It also indicates that we have more sellers than we have buyers.   The buyers who are active in the market are aware of these conditions, so sellers must be aggressive and "on the money" with their pricing if they want to attract the buyer.  This is what I strive for when I recommend a listing price to a homeowner.

There is always a price range that I recommend, and never a specific price.  That is for the seller to choose, and not me.  If a seller is not in a big rush to sell and have time to wait out the market, a home can be priced on the higher end of a range.  If that house is a "premium property" in its presentation and finishes, it just may actually get the premium price.  If a seller has a need to sell more quickly, then they need to price their home at the lower end of the given range. 

It is always my goal to preserve the greatest amount of value possible when I represent a seller.  However controlling the market conditions is beyond my capability.  At the end of the day, a home will sell at the price a buyer is willing to pay and  the seller is willing accept.