 Home
sale price often hinges on need to sell
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 Dear
Steve,
I must sell my home. It's currently priced competitively with like homes at $189,900. My bottom line selling price would be $179,000. However, my agent tells me not to lower my price. Is this good advice, considering I must sell quickly?
--Joan
 Dear
Joan,
Lacking other details such as your local market's condition, the
size of you current mortgage payment and your motivation to sell (for instance,
whether you've bought another home already), it's a little hard to tell. The market
is soft across most of the U.S., and people are regularly dropping prices 5 percent
or more, as you propose, just to close deals. So your agent must be awfully darned
confident that your house is already priced to sell.
At first
glance, you might suspect that your listing agent wants to hold out for a higher
price just to increase her commission, which is not a rare occurrence in the real
estate biz. But when you put pen to paper, the agent's 3 percent cut of the $10,900
discount you're contemplating would only amount to $327 -- hardly enough to risk
what's obviously a desirable and sure-fire listing, at least in your agent's eyes.
Thus, we might assume your agent knows the local market well and is looking out
for your interests. But all this begs another question: Has
your house shown well and shown often? I ask because there's a general sentiment
among agents that if you don't get an offer after 10 to 20 showings, then you
may need to think about lowering your price. Above all, you have to ask yourself
what you have to lose by waiting longer to sell. If there is really an acute time
pressure, then by all means you can instruct the agent to lower the price. In
the end, dropping your price and selling quickly could save you a couple of sizable
mortgage payments.
But before doing that, you and your agent might consider
a few other options. Instead of lopping nearly $11,000 off the sales
price, you might first try offering a bonus of $2,000 or more to
a buyer's agent who can produce a buyer by a certain date. Sometimes
that extra carrot will stimulate additional showings and attention.
Or, you could offer to pay closing costs to sweeten the deal for
the buyer -- anywhere from a $2,000 to $5,000 credit, for example.
Remember, you are calling the shots here, so your
agent is working for you and should help you tailor a strategy to
suit your needs, which are obviously immediate.
Here's hoping for a quick sale.
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