Where You'll Find the Most Stubborn Sellers

Daily Real Estate News | April 8, 2011

Where You'll Find the Most Stubborn Sellers 

On average, sellers reduce their list prices after about 2.5 months by 8 percent when a property hasn't sold yet, according to a new report by Trulia.com, which analyzes non-foreclosure listings of residential properties between March 2010 and 2011.

After making one price reduction, 35 percent of those sellers will make a second price cut too.

However, Trulia found some sellers tend to be a little more “stubborn” when it comes to slashing prices, waiting 80 days before making an initial listing price cut.

According to Trulia, these stubborn sellers are most often found in:

• New York City
• El Paso, Texas
• Charlotte, N.C.
• Cleveland
• Raleigh, N.C.
• Louisville, Ky.
• Kansas City, Mo.
• Memphis, Tenn.

Cities That Don’t Slash Prices Enough Initially

Other sellers don’t seem to cut their prices enough the first time around and likely will have to slash prices further. According to Trulia, those sellers are most often found in:

• Phoenix
• Mesa, Ariz.
• Jacksonville, Fla.
• Baltimore, Md.
• Chicago

Meanwhile, Trulia found that Minneapolis, Minn., was the state quickest to cut prices, slashing prices after an average of 45 days. Other major cities in California--such as Oakland and Sacramento--also were more quick to offer discounts, ranging from 49 to 53 days for the first price cut.

Source: “America’s Most Stubborn Home Sellers,” Fortune (April 5, 2011)

Survey: Sellers Fare Better With Agents

Daily Real Estate News | February 24, 2011

Survey: Sellers Fare Better With Agents 

Sellers have a better chance at getting their house sold by using a REALTOR® than opting for the do-it-yourself approach, according to a survey of 1,000 home owners by HomeGain.com, an online real estate resource. Nearly 60 percent of home owners who used a REALTOR® to sell their home were successful compared to 39 percent of FSBOs, the survey found.

In the survey, 83 percent of home owners said they used a REALTOR® to sell their home, whereas 17 percent said they tried to sell it themselves. This corresponds to results from NAR's 2010 Profile of Buyers & Sellers, which found 88 percent of sellers were assisted by a real estate agent. (Additionally, 83 percent of buyers bought their home through an agent.)

“It is especially striking that home owners fare significantly better in selling their homes using a REALTOR® than selling on their own,” says Louis Cammarosano, general manager at HomeGain. “Due to that relative success, the level of satisfaction in the home selling process is also higher for home sellers utilizing the services of a REALTOR® than those who try to sell their homes on their own.”

Among the findings in its For Sale by Owner vs. REALTOR® survey:

• 88 percent of home owners who sold their homes using a REALTOR® said they would use a REALTOR® again.
• 24 percent of FSBOs eventually contacted a REALTOR® to help sell their home.

Source: “HomeGain Survey Finds Home Sellers Fare 50% Better in Getting Their Homes Sold Using a REALTOR® Than Selling on Their Own,” HomeGain.com (Feb. 24, 2011)

Addicts Snatch Drugs From Homes for Sale

Daily Real Estate News | February 2, 2011

Addicts Snatch Drugs From Homes for Sale 

Addicts are posing as home buyers and cleaning out medicine cabinets in homes for sale, according to recent police reports.

"It's commonplace – more common than you think," Detective Dennis Luken, vice president for the Ohio chapter of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "It's everywhere."

In one recent case, a man showed up to an open house and while the real estate agent was distracted with other customers he went through the home owner’s medicine cabinet. The agent overheard the man going through the drawers, and he was later questioned by police officers. He admitted that he went to the house looking for pain pills and that he learned the trick from peers at a drug treatment program.

Authorities say some criminals also copy information off the home owner's prescription label and then call to have the drug refilled so they can pick it up later.

Carol Woodard, chair of the Cleveland Area Board of REALTORS®, says she advises clients who have a house on the market to have a filing cabinet or locked drawers to stow away any medicine, personal records, credit cards, mail, and any identifying information on their children.

Source: “Addicts Pose as Homebuyers, then Nab Prescription Drugs From Houses That Are Up for Sale,” Cleveland Plain Dealer (Jan. 31, 2011)

Honestly, as if sellers in this market don't have enough to worry about. It's very important that you work with an agent that you can fully trust to at least protect your home during Open Houses!

- Ashley