Recently I was out showing homes to a wonderful couple who are retiring to Sequim, one of the 10 Best Places to Retire in the U.S., according to numerous magazine articles. One of the homes that made it through our filter of searching for the ideal home in the Sequim MLS and the Port Angeles MLS was a custom home built on several acres of private land, and it not only suited these clients, it was almost perfect. What could ruin this picture? [Actually, there many things that can and often do destroy the perfect scenario, but here we focus on one major issue.]
THERE’S A BIG LESSON FOR SELLERS IN THIS TRUE STORY
If you were a buyer, and you found an ideal home and looked at the listing and the photos long before you arrived in the Sequim and Port Angeles area, and you saw a price that was within your budget, how would you feel when you arrived if you learned that the price had been increased by $20,000 or $40,000. If the house had been on the market for a year or more, and it was not being maintained and was vacant, a price increase of that magnitude would turn most buyers off. And it did turn these clients off.
Why would a seller increase the price in this real estate recession after their home had been on the market for a very long time, and when it was vacant and clearly not being maintained (an indication the sellers were in financial distress)?
Your guess is probably as good as mine, but the answers that come to mind do not include words like “wise,” or “smart,” or “intelligent.” [How’s that for using positive words to express the opposites?] If this kind of home is listed under these circumstances with a real estate agent, what kind of discussions must have gone on with the home seller? Well, I don’t want to pick on my fellow agents, but you have to wonder about increasing the listing price in this day and age, don’t you?
Conclusion: If you want to be sure your home does NOT sell in this market, and your home has already been on the market for a long time, increase the listing price. That should all but guarantee you won’t be receiving any offers from intelligent buyers.
Last Updated on July 27, 2012 by Chuck Marunde
The price increase was probably due to the naming of Sequim in the articles you mentioned. This same thing happened in Boise during the bubble years, touted as one of the top ten places to raise a family, etc. Prices went sky high and then the fundamentals took over, eventually, bringing the prices crashing down.
Should be interesting to see what happens in Sequim and P.A.