Santa Clarita Real Estate

I’ve been watching a local listing…its right here in Santa Clarita. It’s a nice home, good floor-plan, nice yard, in a desirable area. Everything should be going good for this seller…but unfortunately for him, it’s far from good. In fact for this seller it’s downright dismal, I already know what you are thinking "it’s the market" or "houses just aren’t selling" nope, it’s neither of those factors.

It began in April 2006 when our market was still relatively excellent for sellers. This seller had opted to list too high, over $150,000 higher than any previous listings had sold for. His first agent had just gone along with what the seller wanted to try to get for the home. No price adjustment was made during the six month listing period. The listing expired. No sale.

The 2nd agent listed the house for $25,000 under the previous amount-still way too high for the neighborhood. The house did seem to get showing activity, but it has been a long 9 months for this seller! He needs to sell; he has a job transfer waiting for him. The 2nd listing expired. No sale.

The 3rd listing agent was somewhat more in tune with the market-his price point was reasonable, however still too high for the neighborhood. This agent even pulled an old trick out of the hat by offering a higher selling office commission, still no sale. This listing was for six months. By now this listing is “stale” all the agents have seen it-some have shown it, there’s just too many listings on the market, the longer it sits, the worse the story can get for the seller.

The seller is now on his 4th listing agent and sadly, his house has not sold, this agent had the sense enough to convince the seller that his price point was far too high for his neighborhood, but still no sale.

One very undesirable effect (among others!) if the house sits unsold for too long-buyers automatically think something is wrong with the house, when in fact nothing can be further from the truth here! This house has had only 2 owners and is in very good order.

When you are ready to list your home-make sure the Realtor you hire is the area expert! Don’t trust the sale to just anybody. The agents you interview will all have the latest comps for your area.  Go over these together, listen to the suggestions your Realtor will recommend, you will have a much more pleasant experience, and reach the goal of selling your home!