By Ron Wynn
- Thinking your home is better than every other home
We all have an emotional attachment to our home and it is very easy to get lost in the value of our home when not seeing it from a distance. For example, you may love your walnut or rosewood custom cabinetry. You may love your antique hardware fixtures and original sconces, and you may love your sunken jacuzzi oversized bathtub perched like a throne in a bed on hand-selected slabs of marble. Your taste at age 60, for example, may not match with a 31-year-old executive from Google. Is your home detailed and designed to be “hip” in the eyes of a buyer in their late 20s and early 30s, or is it better suited for someone just like you or someone in their retirement years? How many people just like you, are currently looking for a home like yours and are looking to pay the price that you would expect to receive? There may be a perfect buyer out there, but not every buyer will see your home the way you do.
- Thinking that list price doesn’t matter because the buyer will always offer what they want to pay
Contrary to what some homeowners believe, buyers in today’s market do not expect big discounts unless a home has been on the market for over five months. Your overpriced home will scare buyers off. In most cases, buyers will not make any offer until you are within 6% to 8% of what they might be willing to pay. The main reasons are: A) They don’t want to waste their time making offers that will get rejected B) They don’t want to offend or insult the seller C) They don’t want to embarrass themselves with the agent or the owner, looking like a low baller or game player. Most buyers will either pass completely or wait for the price reduction before making an offer.
- Thinking I can always sell my house for a good price after making a price reduction
Contrary to what most sellers believe, a price reduction might get attention, but more often draws attention to a seller becoming more motivated. Many buyers choose to believe that a price reduction suggests that a seller has become hungry, maybe even desperate. Unfortunately, although eventually, price reductions will get your home sold, don’t be surprised if a low offer comes in especially if you’ve been on the market for more than four to five months. Other buyers may take notice to your price reduction and sit at the sideline waiting for you to do a second reduction before coming in with an even lower offer.
- Thinking that a buyer will still be around if you don’t accept their offer
I have seen sellers get greedy when an offer comes in on the first day or when a seller has two to three offers in hand within the first week on the market. As a knee jerk reaction, sellers often will think they underpriced their home when offers come in immediately and start trying to play one buyer’s offer against the other to bring the price up. Although the bidding war technique is often
