Peer Pressure in Real Estate: If everyone else rejected this house, I probably should too, right?


Peer Pressure in Real Estate: If everyone else rejected this house, I probably should too, right?
By Scott Rogers • February 23, 2011
Yet another reason to get the list price right from the beginning --- if you start your list price too high, and languish on the market, new prospective buyers looking a a new price will still wonder why nobody has bought it to date, and will be less likely to act based on the lengthy time on the market. I can't tell you how many times (a lot) lately I have been showing a house to a buyer client and after finding out how long the house has been on the market (6 months, 8 months, 14 months, etc) they say: "so.....why hasn't this sold, given all of that time on the market?" Sometimes we can figure out why --- because the price started to high, or because they hadn't yet staged the empty house with furniture, etc., etc. That said, quite often we can't figure out any particular reason why a house hasn't sold after having been on the market for many (or many-many) months. This often leaves my buyer clients in a state of uncertainty, full of doubt and some fear. Even if they like the house (and even if they are considering pursuing it) they wonder why their home buying peers have not bought the house to date. If other reasonably intelligent home buyers have looked at the house and decided NOT to buy it, there must be a reason --- and even if my buyer client can't see that reason, they should probably follow the lead of those who had viewed the house previously --- by not buying the house --- right? Hard to say. Right now a home buyer in this state of mind can console themselves by thinking about how sellers far outnumber buyers -- thus there will always be lots of houses that haven't sold even though you REALLY think they should have. But even so, there will continue to be doubt and concern filling the room as prospective buyers realize that all of the past prospective buyers concluded that they should NOT buy the house. Again -- one good lesson to take from this as a seller is to realize that it is of utmost importance to have your home priced appropriately from the start, and to make sure your home is being marketed to the fullest extent possible --- from Day 1. Receive Updates by Email Recent Articles: Is There A Price You WOULD Pay For This House? There Are Plenty Of Types Of Houses That Exist That Just Are Not Available To Purchase Home Sales By Price Range In The City Of Harrisonburg Are You Compromising On Aspects Of Your Next Home That You Can Or Cannot Change Later? How Much Slower Are The Winter Months In Our Local Housing Market? Rockingham County and New Home Sales Drive Surge in Area Housing Market Find The Balance Between Optimistic And Realistic Home Pricing Room Size Is Difficult To Understand Solely From Real Estate Photos How Much Would You Value Not Having To Prepare Your Home For Showings? One Out Of Four Homes Is Taking Longer Than A Month To Sell
Have any questions? Contact Scott Rogers at 540-578-0102 or scott@funkhousergroup.com
Based on information from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Association of REALTORS® or its MLS, for the period Jan 1, 2000 through Nov 24, 2024 (unless otherwise noted).
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