House going up for sale - need opinions

**mateosbaby** · 12-23-2009, 10:03 PM

My husband and I had our house for sale for 10 months last year into this year, and in that time our realtors kept dropping our price over and over again, as if that's all they knew how to do. Finally, we were at $119,000, under comps except for 1 foreclosure up the street from us, and they wanted us to drop to $100,000. We paid $115,000 for the house, and still owe a little over $100,000. It wasn't going to happen, so they dropped us. During that time, we had A LOT of showings. The realtors said we had more showings than any other of their listings. Don't know if I believe them, but we did have a lot of people come through. But no 2nd showings at all. A couple people said they would, but never followed through.

So now we are ready to relist with a new agent in January. We already know we want to price below comps because we really need to move this year (last year would have been nicer, but evidently not necessary, even though we were motivated while pg with Baby #4). Now with 4 kids, our house is way too small, so we are willing to do what it takes within reason. What can we expect with the housing market in WI and in general? Any advice for what we can do better to get those 2nd showings and, more importantly, the sale?

Thanks for any help you can give us.

Sara

**Greg** · 12-24-2009, 06:32 AM

The agent you had to begin with was doing everything right, as indicated by the number of showings. You are going to hear a lot of advice about marketing and fixing your house up but in the end it all really boils down to one common denominator. PRICE

The house has not sold because you kept lowering the price to where it was just high enough to lose out with the buyers. The market is in a downward curve and you kept pricing your house just behind that curve.

You need to bite the bullet and price your house ahead of the downward curve and do it now. If you had priced your house ahead of the curve last year you would have sold your house for more than you are going to sell it for now and the longer you wait the more the value goes down.

What you paid for it does not matter and how much you owe does not matter.

Go back to the agent you had before and let them sell your house. They would have sold it already if you would have cooperated.

**mateosbaby** · 12-24-2009, 08:11 AM

Actually, all the prices were their idea. They are the ones who kept us behind the curve. Originally, they had us in the $150s, then once a month or 2 months, they would drop us about $10,000. If they would have priced us correctly in the first place, yes, we would have sold it. And we were willing to do that. It's a very cute house, it really is, but if it's not marketed correctly, even the price won't matter. They didn't tell us to declutter (we did, anyway), they didn't tell us to move furniture around to help the buyer picture themselves in the house (we finally figured that out on our own, right before they dropped us). All they wanted to do was get their money from the commission. Which I can understand, but they could have helped with things other than dropping the price constantly, especially that beginning price they told us would be "perfect."

Yes, I'm kind of bitter about it, because they really were not helpful at all. Like I said, the pricing was all them. We went along with it until they tried to drop it drastically at the end. We never fought them until then.