Is your Rancho Cucamonga home still not sold?

Unfortunatly if that is the case there is a good possibility that your home is....priced to high. I know that's what you keep hearing but it very well may be true. If a home sits on the market and no one is interested chances are it's been overpriced and buyers just don't see it as a good deal or worth the investment.

And truthfully, 90% of the time, I am on their side about the price. I agree with them that their house is definitely worth what they are asking, but the fact of the matter is, we are in a buyer’s market with today’s economy, and there’s not a whole lot that you or I can do about that. If we were to sit down and look at the numbers, your home probably is "worth" around what your asking but as inventory builds on the market you always want to stay ahead of the market, not behind.

What I mean is if a similar home like your home sold for $400,000 , it is much better to price your home at $395,000 rather than $430,000. There is a good possiblity the buyers who didn't get the $400,000 home are still looking for a home and will see your home and the price will make them feel it's a great deal. Remember more interest increases your chances of getting it sold quickly for top dollar which very well could be over asking price.

There was a couple in the area that hired a Realtor who listed their home for $798k. This price was about $100,000 higher than what the houses in the area were selling for, but because the Realtor thought there house would sell for an additional $100k, the couple listened to her.

The house sat on the market for 4 months with a few inquiries here and there, but nothing serious. A 5 months went by and the house was STILL on the market! The couple eventually decided they needed a new Realtor. This new Realtor did drop the price, but only by $50,000. Even with this price reduction the house was still not moving and after a week the Realtor realized what they needed to do. They needed to get in front of the market and create massive value in the eyes of the buyer.

A week later, the couple and the new Realtor, sat down and the Realtor explained to them they really were so over priced that even thought hey felt they came "down" $50,000, they needed to be around $699,000. The Realtor explained to them that even though they had an amazing home, they over built for the neighborhood and a buyer in their price range would much rather a home around other homes of similar value. If they were going to attract a buyer they had to price it to be a great deal. Within 11 days of the new sales price they had the property SOLD!

Listing a house above market value will almost always end badly for you. It's much better to actually start LOWER than market value because this gets buyers' attention. Once the attention has been gathered, you will get more than one buyer interested, and they will probably start a "bidding war". Basically this means that they will each keep making offers until they may actually drive the price up to HIGHER than market value and then you can accept one of their offers! Wherever there is a market, you can make customers. Lower the price of your home, create a market, get people interested, and then sell for the price you want!

Put the effort into properly presenting your home through professional pictures. Don’t undercut your home with point-and-shoot images that don’t show off its true beauty. Remember people do judge a book by it's cover and so too do they judge a house by it's pictures. Give your buyer a “deal” that they won’t be able to turn down. Offer them something simple that no one else has probably offered. People love getting a deal of any kind. Make your house presentable to your buyer. Take down personal items and make it as neutral as possible so that they can vision their life in your home.

And last but not least, keep your house clean and presentable at all times, but especially the front of the house, the living room and the kitchen.

Thank you and I look forward to talking to you soon,
Seth