Price Reductions...

I attended our local Realtor marketing meeting this morning. (CCRIM)

33 homes on the Caravan Tour, split into three different tours. They, the agents, are all viewing the houses now.

I'm back at the office.
(I only do financing, and strongly believe in doing one thing and doing it well)

But I was struck by an equal if not higher amount of price reduction announcements in the meeting. Picture 30+ agents, one after one, stepping up the microphone to announce price reductions. Some were admittedly happy that their sellers "had finally come to their senses", while others were almost pleading for someone to find a buyer before the listing contract expires.

As the general public, you may not realize it but there is a dynamic conflict between the "correct" list pricing and winning the listing agreement. The decision on who you choose to represent your house for sale oftentimes comes down to which Agent promises they can get you the most Dollars.

While shopping for anything is a good thing - there are some things it's very hard to legitimately shop for. Listing Agents and Mortgages are naturally the first two things that come to mind.

List your home blindly with the Agent who says they can get the most money for you and you'll also see your home languish on the market for the most amount of days. There is so much more to listing than your net.

There are two comparable homes near me that went up for sale in the last couple of months.
One listed and sold in a matter of days.
It listed almost $40,000 less than the other one.
It was listed with a long time, seasoned, professional Agent.
The other one was listed by a smaller, newer Agent who promised much more in net proceeds.
3 Price reductions and almost 4 months later, they've now lowered themselves down to the price of the other house, but because it's languished so many days on the market it's hard to generate much interest in other Agents to show the house. It's still not sold. Meanwhile the sold house closed escrow on time and the new occupants are already settled in.

So which pricing model is right?

I'll say the same thing goes for Mortgages.
Try and shop by rates and fees and you will lose every time.

BTW: here are two important links to see homes either on broker tour in the area, or open this weekend in your area.
First is from the Contra Costa Realtors in Motion (CCRIM) site and shows this weeks caravan tour: LINK
The second is a great listing of all the open homes this weekend in your area: LINK

Help You Sell

"Home Seller's

Has your listing languished on the market?
Have the days turned into months?
Are you thinking about yet another price reduction?
Nobody showed up at the last open house?
Internet, virtual tours, YouTube, nothing seems to be working?

Hi I'm Billy Mays and I have good news for you!..."

Or at least that's how I see the infomercial going.

But it is true, as the markets get tighter,
and the number of days on the market increases,
and sellers concessions rise,
sellers are looking for help in selling their homes.

This story just begs for more pictures.
Not to bash anyones religious beliefs, but this is just plain weird.

There are a growing number of people who honestly believe if they bury a statue of St. Joseph in their front lawn their home will sell faster.
No really, I'm not kidding!



Here's a story in BankRate: Link
and one in the Urban Legends website: Link
and here's a whole page of St. Joseph home selling supplies: Link




Like I said, I strongly believe in freedom of religion and do not want to slam anyone for their beliefs.

Hey, if St. Joseph will help your home sell faster then I am good with you laying him to rest in the bed of daffodils, if that's what you believe.

Speaking of which here's a google list of no fewer than 1,570,000 testimonials: Link



But what do the people in Condo's do?
They don't have a front yard!
What if they live on the 3rd floor?
Will their condo never sell?

Where is the equality, I ask?

If you live closer to the clouds, you are now in luck!
You can now buy a Virtual St. Joe.

No, I'm not pulling your leg.
You really can buy a virtual (that means imaginary) St. Joeseph Statue!
They even made it easier for you to remember with a simple website name: www.virtualstjoseph.com

Direct from their website:

"You buy it, and we do the rest!

You do not have shipping or tracking problem. No waiting for delivery. No messing around with dirt and trowels. No snoopy neighbors will see you plant the statue. 100% confidential.

You will receive nothing in the mail. All you need is faith and all you have to do is pray.

Available worldwide and online only, you can order in minutes. Include your address with your order, and we will virtually "plant" a statue in your house front yard. It's that easy! All you have to do is wait for the buyers.

Payment via Paypal, Visa or Mastercard couldn't be any easier.

If you are an agent or have multiple properties to sell, please contact us for bulk sale prices."


Ever kick yourself and say "Man, why didn't I think to invent that?"

No matter how smart I think I am, they were smarter and faster.
They registered the domain name all the way back on 10/02/06.

Once again, I have no room to bash anyone.
This comes from someone who actually has this statue next to his miniature statue of the Stanley Cup...



(of course I also have a personal blog called, "There's no place like OM" but that's another post all together)


BTW:
I'm presently working on a Virtual Mortgage
The payments are real but the house is virtual!

I'll keep you posted.