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August 21, 2006
My Apartment Won't Sell...Help!
SELL MORTIMER SELL!!
A: If your property has been on the market for months (either with a broker or not) and has still not sold, there really is only one thing you can do to spur activity: LOWER YOUR ASKING PRICE! The sooner you come to this realization the faster your property will move.
Advice #1: LOWER YOUR ASKING PRICE TO BELOW MARKET VALUE! Its not rocket science. Its just a matter of waking up and realizing that what you thought your property was worth or what your broker promised to get for you is not realistic. Your goal should be to offer a good value to buyers and bring in as much traffic activity to your property as possible. In the end, the MARKET dictates the MARKET VALUE of your apartment, not the BROKERS!
Advice #2: This will sound anti-productive by its nature (since you might want to sell as soon as possible) but take 1-2 weeks off of advertising in major media outlets such as NY Times, NY Post, or online websites. Don't hold an open house for 1-2 weeks and only cater to individual appointments. Give your listing a break and try to 'freshen' it up for future display to a newer audience after some time off. Combine this with a price reduction and you should get renewed interest in your property.
Advice #3: Make sure your property is clean and NOT cluttered with furniture during open houses and showings! If possible, put some furniture in storage temporarily to show off the true size of the property. Also, do your best to only show the apartment when you get the most natural sunlight. If you get the best sun from 2:00-5:00PM, then don't run an open house from 12:00-2:00! Sunlight sells if you have it, so use it!
Advice #4: LOWER YOUR ASKING PRICE TO BELOW MARKET VALUE!
Notice a trend?
Im gonna say it because no one else will, especially to your hired broker who promised you those astronimcal asking prices just to gain an exclusive listing:
IF YOUR PROPERTY HAS NOT RECEIVED AN OFFER AFTER 35 UNIQUE VISITORS HAVE SHOWED UP, THAN YOUR PROPERTY IS OVERPRICED!
SELLER TIP: AVOID BEING TRICKED BY LIERS
Do the right thing. Bring your asking price closer to that of the last comparable sale in your building. If that last sale was more than 12 months ago, than add some time value into it. But don't make the mistake of 'testing' the market as it will only set you back further. And another thing, if there are similar units being offered for sale in your building at the same time as yours, than make sure your priced accordingly.
It amazes me to see the arrogance of some brokers to think their past history is reason enough to garner such an out-of-market price for their client's property. Its true that some agents are exceptional at the art of marketing and selling, and that they creatively built up their business to a level that offers more services for their clients. Douglas Elliman's Jacky Teplitzky & the team she leads is a good example of this. Citi-Habitats agent Danny Davis is another. But there is a limit to what price they can get for you.
As a seller interviewing agents to market your property, don't be suckered into thinking one particular agent can get you $100,000 more than what another agent quotes your apartment at, just because they are better. A real estate agent promising you a higher than market value for your property is trying to trick you into giving them the exclusive right to sell the listing.
I'll probably get some heat over this post from the brokerage industry, but hey, I'm an independent contractor and as such I feel that I can independently post my opinions.
I SAY TO THE SELLERS: Look at pricing of the real estate market as you would look at pricing of corporate stock. If INTEL, NASDAQ: INTC, is trading a $18/Share and you own it, it would be foolish of me (your broker) to promise you I can sell it for $25/Share. How can I do that? Someone else is selling it for $18/Share, and the short term direction it goes is unkown! Well, if soemone has a similar apartment to yours (a block away or in building) and is offering it for substantially less than you are, you know what you need to do!
Offering your property at a price below market value will generate traffic and hopefully get you multiple offers! If time is on your side, than try a series of smaller price reductions until you see a spur in activity. If you MUST sell now than do 1 aggressive price reduction.
Posted by urbandigs at August 21, 2006 8:28 AM
What?! Are you kidding me?! A guy making his daily bread as a real estate agent suggesting to sellers to LOWER THEIR PRICES?! Well that IS a refreshing change! I have just discovered this site, live in London, but my wife is from NYC, and i like to keep my ear to the ground with what's going on in the property market there. Keep up the good work Noah, i like what i'm seeing here!
Posted by: Dave from London at August 21, 2006 2:58 PM
Ha! Thanks Dave. A realistic real estate agent telling it like it is, what is the world coming to!
Posted by: Noah at August 21, 2006 4:12 PM
Hi Noah - great post, as usual. I have written three offers in three days and all three are competing with multiple offers - in the midst of a real estate sales slump! That's what the right price for a property will produce - lots of interest and multiple offers.
Posted by: Maggie Knowles at August 22, 2006 2:19 AM
Thanks for your honesty. I think we all knew that the market was cooling, and we sellers have to do what needs to be done to sell! It's good to find a agent to be honest and tell it like it is!
Posted by: D Davis-DeWitt at September 14, 2006 7:03 PM
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