All Hope Not Lost

If you are selling a property it might feel like, yes, the light at the end of the tunnel has gone out.

Many sellers have been through several Realtors and may even be trying to sell there home by themselves now.

As a seller you might think nothing is moving on the market and to just go into foreclosure.

First there are homes being sold. More than on 100 every month on average in Manatee County alone.

The issue here is supply and demand. There are more than 4,000 single family homes for sale, not including new contstruction inventory and more than 1,700 condominiums/townhomes in Manatee County.

What matters most to buyers right now is price. You may think your home is the most special on the block, it has all the bells and whistles and look what you paid for it. All of that means nothing really.

This is the slinky theory. How do you stop a slinky going down the stairs? You get ahead of it.

Many sellers don't want to listen to their Realtors when they say they have to drop their price to get ahead of the market and be noticed. Then by the time they do let reality set in they have to drop their price even more to catch up.

Here is some sage advice.

It is a wholesale market right now with literally dozens of properties available in Manatee County for every buyer. If you have a retail price on your home, yep, you most likely are going to be passed over.

Not only do you have to have your property appear like a showhome in this market you have to be the best darn value on the market. Yes, there are still multiple offer situations in this market if the home is priced well the bargain hunters will flock to it.

For those trying to sell their home for sale by owner it is even tougher slog. Unless you have all the access to the latest market information you probably don't know what the current market will bear. It doesn't matter to the buyer what you paid for it. It matters, what the buyer's are will to pay for it.

Next, take this from a buyer's agent perspective. With thousands of homes on the market trying to narrow down the search using the local multiple listing service is tough enough with such a large inventory. For sale by owners, unless the client comes across them, are probably not going to get noticed by the buyer's agent.

In this market it all comes down to price. If you are williing to have the best priced, best value home in your community on sale your home will most likely sell. If your not willing to do that, yes, the light for you at the end of the tunnel has probably gone out.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams Realty of Greater Manatee
941.779.5149