Sellers Need to Get Practical About Price

Sellers whose homes have lingered on the market for months--or years, in some cases--are banking on this spring to turn the tide.

Foreclosures and short sales are still flooding the market, which means many sellers are still up against big inventories and some big bargains that may pull away buyers.

As such, more real estate pros say it’s time to have tough conversations with sellers about slashing their sales price of their home, particularly if it hasn’t garnered any traffic in recent months or years. After all, spring usually brings out more buyers, as home shoppers look to buy and move before the next school year.

"We have had a problem with sellers who are nostalgic for the way it was," says Ron Phipps, a Warwick, R.I., real estate professional and the president of the National Association of REALTORS®. He says what home owners could fetch for their home during the housing boom is not practical today. "You have to be where the market is, not where it was," Phipps says.

Phipps suggests encouraging sellers to check out the competition by visiting open houses or viewing online virtual tours of similar homes for sale to see how the seller’s house compares in price and appearance.

"You have to be very realistic about what is keeping your home from selling," Phipps says. "Sometimes it may actually be the person in the mirror, if your expectations are not realistic. Ultimately, there is a price at which all things sell."

Source: “Longtime Listings Try Again in Spring,” Associated Press (March 1, 2011)