Among Friends

[gloriajean]

Cheaper than a Realtor? Good idea or bad?  What do you think? Our house is on the market since the beginning of May. We leave here Sept. 1st for our apartment.

[AnikaBrodie]

Our neighbor auctioned off his 3 bedroom home in June.  He accepted $101,000 for the home although it was worth at least in the low to mid $190s.  He lost his wife a few years ago and moved into a senior complex in a nearby town.

[cowboy sam]

If she signed a contract with a realator she might not be able to.

[tansy]

If your home has been on the market for three months, I'd assume your asking price is too high and/or your agent is not doing a good job of marketing your home.  Have you had any offers at all?

[Nightowlz]

ITA the asking price must be too high if it's been on the market since May. Your realtor should be able to tell you a good selling price. If your home needs updating only people that want to do the remodel will buy your home. I would put it up for sale by owner before I would auction it off. You will not get what's it's worth if you auction. Enter your address on Zillow. It shows what some houses near you sold for & how much some houses are listed for sale.

[Carmie]

Every house will sell if the price is reasonable.  If you have had your home on the market for 3 months and there are no offers at your price, then you are priced too high.

In todays world, Realtors all have their listings in the MLS, so you have the power of hundreds of Realtors looking to sell your home.  There are also sites like Zillow where home buyers can brouse through properties. I would not blame the Realtor for not selling, but I do blame him/her for listing your house at a too high price.

Have you had any showings?  Did you get feedback?  Sometimes, a property is slow to sell because of something that can be fixed or repaired or sometimes a problem like water in the basement. 

I would call your Realtor and ask for the "comps" in your neighborhood.  Go over them and reprice your home to sell.  If your listing offers to pay some closing fees of the buyer, that might push a buyer to bite.

Yes, you can sell at auction, but be prepared to except pennies of what your property is worth.  People to buy at auction are looking for a real bargain.

Sometimes today, our homes are worth less than what we paid for them, or less than what they were worth years ago.  Real Estate is no longer a sure thing like it used to be unless you are in the right location, location, location.

Best of luck to you.

[Perkup]

After more than half a century in real estate, I can assure you that it's not always the Realtor.   You may be overpriced.  The condition of your home may be too cluttered or just "dingy". There may be no demand for your type of property or location at this time. There may be a real need for updating, which would discourage some buyers.  There are a lot of things you should ask yourself.

How's your curb appeal?  How is the condition of the home on the outside?  Is your house uncluttered, or does it look as though it's too small for you?  Closet space crammed?  Too much furniture? Too many "personal" things like photos out for view? Kitchen and Bathrooms fresh and up to date?  Are other similar properties (in your opinion) selling at this time, or is the market sick?

Is your Realtor doing any advertising?  Open houses, inclding for other Realtors and for the general public when weekends are best?  Have you shown him or her the courtesy of discussing the lack of offers with them?  If you feel you want a release from this Realtor, ask them. (Sometimes they are glad to get rid of a client when the house isn't moving!!!) Speak to the Office Manager about the listing.

If you want to try to do it alone, ask for a release from the listing - there will be a few conditions - but I really don't like the idea of an auction. You will no doubt lose money by doing this.

[PamfromCT]

Very good tips in this thread.  Don't remember if a one asked if you've had any open house event on weekends?  I especially like Carmie's question concerning feedback from showings.  Any negative feedback?  If so, is there anything you can do to improve what is negative.  

The housing market here is very slow.  Sometimes there are things you can do to "sweeten the pot."  Like throwing in an allowance to add or change things that seem important to a particular buyer.  That helped our daughter sell her condo after she married last year and moved into hubby's house.

Best at of luck to you!

[curlywhitedog]

gloriajean:

You and I know one another a long time so I remember the first time you put your house on the market a few years back.  I remember it being a lovely and well kept property in a nice neighborhood so believe me when I tell you, even not knowing what you're priced at, the fact that your house isn't selling is related to price.  No matter what ever is wrong with a house, everything can be overcome by price.  Condition not good, no curb appeal, dated interior...whatever, everything can be overcome by price.

Have a heart to heart talk with you realtor, ask him/her what their opinion of your price is and be prepared to listen and follow their advice.  Market conditions differ from one state to another so I can't say what they're like where you live but they're soft in NJ...houses are selling but only when they're priced competitively.

My advice, stay away from an auction and trust me when I tell that you will get much more if you allow it to sell on the open market AT THE RIGHT PRICE. 

Maria

[millieshops]

Without our knowing what other houses in her area are available at what price, without knowing the average number of days on the market for a house like hers, every bit of advice OP is getting is way too general to tell her why her specific home has not been getting offers.  There are just too many reasons.

We don't know, for example, whether her real estate taxes are out of line, whether there's a zombie house or two relatively close to hers, whether the realtor suggested a price OP went over, whether the landscape and lot size are typical for her area, etc.  And still all the general "rules" apply -  clean, declutter, trim, clean, declutter trim. 

And definitely talk to the realtor who hopefully was interviewed carefully prior to his/her getting the listing because some are better at getting lisitings thn they are at selling, some are better selling top-end homes than middle ones. 

Finally - I'd say auction your home only as a last deperate act.  I suppose a local realtor with local experience can show you a different belief, but in my personal and realestate work, I never saw an auction I liked.