Thread: Switching agents after a year & no offers..advice PLEASE!

Hi,
Glad to find this board. We live outside of Boise, Idaho in Nampa. We have a home on the market in great condition that we have lowered and lowered and lowered to the point where we are making about 2-3 grand off the house now - if that. We must sell it or foreclosure will happen soon. The agent that we are using is also a friend, however, I am not sure that the fact the agent has a very small agency she works with, with little advertising other than MLS may play a factor in this. We have thought about going to a larger company like a Remax or Coldwell Banker to sell the house faster. Our agent is having us offer $2500 towards buyers closing costs and the fact that it's lower than most 2 stories (although our's is a Tri-Level) it's still hasn't had even a looker in weeks. We have had a total of about 15-18 people view the house in about a 10 month time, but no offers. Now it's to the point where two houses around us have recently sold (single level and 2 story), but no viewings on ours. Would it be wise to switch agents? I know nationwide the market isn't that great, but you would think being that ours is lower than most that we would have something. Thanks for any advice.

We will never truly be able to answer that question for you. There are just too many factors that go into it.

Are you priced right in comparison to other homes in your area? In a declining market, you must be priced better/cheaper than the competition to attract a buyer. Can you honestly say that is where you are at and how long have you been at this price?

As far as the agent, are they doing a better job than the competition? Have they marketed your home to the masses?

In the end, you know in your gut when you need to change. If they haven't sold you on why you should stay with them, then they probably can't sell the home to other agents with buyers either.

My 2 cents only! Good luck! Feel free to pm me for more thoughts.

Thanks for your reply. Most homes in our area and sq ft, bdrms ect are going for about $160k and up. We are $10k below that price. Our agent even told us that we are the cheapest on the market right now. Maybe time for a change! Any lower and we'll owe money at the closing.

Thanks

The size of a company has nothing to do with getting your house sold. I worked for Re/Max and other big companies and also small companies and now we own our own company and there has been no difference in our business or in selling our listings. It is about who we are and how we market the property.
Lowering you price over and over again looks like you are desperate. That energy of desperate keeps people away. I would suggest (not knowing about your house) that you tell your agent to take your house off the market for a few days, write up a new description, new MLS input info and new price. So the average joe will not see all the reductions and time on the market. It sends out a signal that something is wrong with your house. That technique works wonders for us.

Unless there are simply no buyers, you might do well to invest in a professional stager who will look at your home with a critical eye and give you advise on how to make it desireable for the lowest amount of money.
Stagers will make suggestions on cleaning up clutter, but also paint accessories and the like.
A stager and their advice will cost a significant amount, but still probably less than lowering your price another 10k.

You may have answered the question.
Yours is a trilevel and had 15-18 showings. Your neighbors are selling
1 and 2 story homes.
When you say tri level, do you mean split foyer?
Staging sounds like a good idea.
Do you have any feedback from the showings?

2-3 grand from it?
Then try owner financing, with a wraparound private new note.
Negociate the down payment and add some cash flow on top of the mortgage...