I was just doing some research for homes in Atlanta for my daughter , and out
of curiosity, I looked at what is going on in Chicago.. You may be encouraged
to learn that in the Chicago area, 44000 condo/townhomes were sold in 2002. The
prices are up now over last year. Meanwhile, as an indicator of the times,
sales that took 45 days avg last year are now taking 108. The median price is
172K. On the market at the moment, according to realtor.com are over 10,000
townhouses/condos. That is only a 3 month supply based on last year numbers.
As with everything on that site, the numbers will not be accurate as much of
what is going on in a given area is NOT shown on realtor .com. Some homes shown
for sale will have been sold, some listings will not be there, and much will be
incorrect. You can get some ideas there however.

Generally, most people do not know that they can go to their county website and
in many counties find the tax database. In our area, you can find what everyone
in town paid for their house, when, and what the taxes are. You can learn the
house and lot size, number of rooms, and other info that helps you compare with
your own. You can even see an aerial view in many counties, print a plat of the
property, read the actual deed, as well as maps showing all the nearby
amenities, schools, zoning, road plans, etc. A treasure house of info.. It has
always been public info at the courthouse, just available now easier on the
net. It is an easy way to create a list of your neighbors and to find out what
homes around you have sold for recently.. You are primarily interested in recent
sales, but sales up to a year old can help if sales are sparse in your area.
Also, if you look at such a database, ignore the tax assessment value. It
generally is not a reliable indicator of actual market value. Unfortunately,
not every county has all this info yet, but the odds are that Chicago and
vicinity will have a lot of data for you.

Don't be misled by stories of how long it took or what a house sold for similar
to yours somewhere else. Remember the three most important rules in real estate
are still the same after all these years: Location, Location, and Location. Even
in a row of townhouses, no two have the same location. Yours is unique. It has
a different view, gets the sun differently, is closer or further from amenities
or problems, has more heat loss than a central unit, but more privacy. Your
street may have a greatly different price range than one a block away. The
school zones may even be different. Maybe your zip code has more appeal. .And
along those lines, there are some things a real estate agent cannot tell a
prospect that you can. For example, they may not be allowed to advise what
school district the house is in. In that case, if yours is a great school, put a
bumper sticker on your car and your refrigerator with that school name on it.
The buyer with kids will notice it. The rules of the game in some locations
require the buyer to do their own due diligence. The diligent buyer may find out
adverse things about the neighborhood that even you do not know, and the agent
cannot tell them. Ask your agent if there is information known to them about the
area that they feel might influence a buyer pro or con but that they as an
agent are forbidden by law to mention to a buyer. Then you research from there
to know more yourself.

It would be interesting to hear your report when you make your sale.( I was a
little long winded because I love this subject.)

SailFish



H H wrote:

Thanks for all the responses. The point that is coming through to me loud
and clear is that
we were priced wrong from the start and we probably are still priced too
high. But here
is a question. Why keep lowering the price if, perhaps, any offer I get is
not going to be
the asking price? It seems I am just negotiating for someone. Of course, an
answer
could be that I've had no offers, so as long as I am not losing money, what
difference
does a a few thousand dollars make?

We've done all the "tricks". Clear the clutter, keep a clean house, etc.. We
have been very
accomodating for showings as well. You can't be 100% at everything, but we
have
gone out of our way with showings. Yes, we've said "no" to a few, but those
have been
few(very few) and far between.

We are in a Chicago suburb, and we have been told by more than 1 agent that
the
best months to sell/buy around here is June and July. You start to limit the
people
who may be looking. For example, families with kids.

Our plan is now to take the house off the market a few days, come back as a
"New"
listing(we are on MLS), and see what happens. We also plan to have a lower
price.
It's time to not hold back, pull out all the stops.

"Sailfish" wrote in message
...
Yours is a good question that applies to many people.. If I were your new
agent
right now, I would tell you this. (Some may differ, and if they do, I bet
they
will let us know in short order.) I hope you accept it as good news.

There are many good suggestions so far on what may be wrong and what you
might
do to do to make your home more attractive to a given buyer. When you boil
it
all down, there is only one basic problem. Your Price is too high for the
home
you are offering to the potential buyers that are aware of its
availability!
What leads to that conclusion?

If someone is specifically LOOKING for a home in your area, and it has
been in
the multiple list and on a yard sign for 90 days, they have most likely
seen
it. Fact: All who have become aware of it by whatever means have turned
it
down at the asking price. The factors that cause rejection are varied and
hard
to pin down. You can't change all the internal factors, and none of the
external factors locked in by your location itself, but you can change the
price
to compensate for ALL of them.

Without seeing it, a real estate broker knows that at some price there is
a
buyer for any home, no matter what the problems are. For example there
are
those who only buy environmentally challenged properties. There are others
who
buy to tear down and build new. Your home is unique from all others, if
only in
location. There is a buyer for it at the right price FOR THAT BUYER!

You can keep offering your home at your current asking price and make that
price
more attractive by removing any identified problems over which you have
some
control or by adding competitive features. Both will cost you time or
money. Or,
you can lower the price and change nothing. Think of it as a reverse
auction.
You started higher than anyone will pay and you are going down until sold.
As
long as prospects know it is available and what the price is, at some
point, a
buyer will jump in.. So it's been on the market "too long" and the price
has
been lowered several times, that is not fatal. You are in no hurry and are
simply taking your time in getting to the right price. When you started,
you
did not know what the right price was. Now, you have all the evidence you
need
to know that it was too high to start, and still is. In the meantime, you
have
missed some buyers who have bought elsewhere, but there is still a buyer
waiting for it. It may not sell for the price you would like, but it is
salable.

Another key point in your question is that of availability to the
interested
prospects. You get a "C" at best for that effort so far. One of those
people
you denied a visit may have been viable at or near your price. If you are
serious about selling, make up your mind to go out of your way to make it
available for inspection to everyone who wants to see it, and at a time
convenient to THEM. Your convenience and your agent's convenience is
secondary.
Your home has been on the market for 3 months. Saturday morning at 7:30
and I
have to bring my 3 year old? FINE! Get up and get out. Wednesday night in
the
middle of your normal dinner hour when you have a guest for dinner is the
only
time they have available to come? Come on over! The real estate agent is
going
to handle it, you are out of the picture. Go out for dinner, or keep
eating but
make sure your dinner is aromatic. Realize that while locals may look at
their
leisure for years with the thought of a first home or upgrade when they
spot a
bargain in the right place at the right time, many ready, willing and able
buyers are on tight schedules when they go to a new city to find a home.
They
look at a handful and buy one. That can happen any time of the year in
many
locations.

You are talking about repainting to a different color. If we bought your
townhome, my wife would change the colors no matter how carefully you
selected
them. Probably change the carpet also. However, if we knew there had EVER
been
a cat in it, we and many others would never look at it at any price
because of
allergies among the relative who would visit. Others would not mind..
Every
buyer is different so you cannot please them all no matter what you
change.

Last item, the Real Estate Salesperson working with you and the Broker
they work
for. When all else fails, it is easy to blame them! There are any number
of
things they may be doing wrong or not doing at all. But remember, if your
town
is typical, the agent that listed your property is not likely to be the
one who
will sell it unless it is a very hot market and it sells before it gets to
the
multiple list. That happens. It is not happening for you, but you have the
advantage of the combined resources of every agent in town being aware of
your
property so that they may show it to their clients. They want to make a
sale.
They eat better when they do. Every one of them would like to sell your
home for
you.

You say with the Summer over it is too late to sell? Out of curiosity ,
where
is your home that it can only be sold in the Summer? Do all the real
estate
offices close down in September and the sales people leave town until next
Spring? If so, that sounds like an opportunity for someone to open an
office
year round and cater to the skiers and ice fishermen, as well as those
transferring in who did not know Summer was the only time to buy. Is there
really such a place?

Good luck.



H H wrote:

Hi. I've lurked in this group awhile and I am in need of some advice

We've had our home on the market over 90 days. We have had only 1 offer
in
that time,
and the deal fell through. We, along with our agent, have no idea what
the
issues are.
The house is clean, and in overall good condition. Our house is not a
"money
pit",
even though the "pits" here have sold.

I've seen allot of advice that says the reason for us still on the
market is
may be price, which we
have lowered 3 times. I am beginning to think that we were never priced
right from the
beginning. Now, given that the summer is almost over, it's too late.

Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.