A Disconnect Between Sellers and Buyers
December 23rd, 2009 categories: Economic Recovery, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers, Housing Market
One of the challenges for REALTORS® today is to reconcile what buyers want to pay for homes and what sellers want to sell them for. Unfortunately, it looks like this challenge isn’t going away any time soon.
The Realty Times Web site recently ran a story on a new survey by HomeGain.com that showed that a growing number of homeowners think their residences should be listed at prices 10 to 20 percent higher than what REALTORS® are recommending. At the same time, the survey found, 62 percent of buyers think homes are still priced too high.
This is the problem in a nutshell: Sellers think they’re not getting enough money for their homes, while buyers think they’re still paying too much for them.
The best way to resolve this dispute is for both buyers and sellers to have reasonable expectations. Buyers, for instance, need to know that while real estate prices have fallen significantly in the last two years, they still can’t “steal” a home. Yes, they can negotiate with sellers on price. They can ask them to pay for reasonable repairs. But there is a point at which every seller will no longer drop an asking price. Trying to push past this point is a waste of time.
Sellers, too, need to be realistic. Houses simply aren’t selling for what they were during the real estate boom. Sellers need to listen to their REALTORS® when they recommend an initial asking price. Setting a price too high rarely brings about positive results. What usually happens is that the buyers stay away, and sellers have to lower the price anyway. This just wastes more time.
No one is disputing that this is a tough residential market. But sales are improving. It’s just a matter of adjusting to the new real estate reality. The housing boom years are gone. Owners who try to sell their homes as if they aren’t will find that the offers simply won’t come in.
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