Steven R. Keefe, Broker/Owner Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty
www.mountainmoves.com
steve@cbskyridge.com
909.336.2131
Question: Why do real estate brokers come up with an asking price on a house and then within a month start saying the price needs to be lowered?
Answer: The market is in a constant state of flux. What we know is that in most cases if a home has not sold within a reasonable time period frequently it is pricing. The current market has a lot of inventory and fewer buyers than last year. What this means is that all things being equal (which they never are), a property must be positioned appropriately in the marketplace.
Ask yourself this question, if you were a buyer and had 5 homes to choose from all similar to yours, would you buy yours? Your brokers job is to get your property sold. They must do many things to accomplish this. One of which is to make sure you are positioned to sell in comparison to the competition.
Question: When a comparison is run on homes to get a price, should a new roof, new siding door, new flooring, fresh paint, new patios, 6" walls instead of 4"walls, new doors and windows be taken into consideration? Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel a home with all of this should be priced higher than one that doesn't have such features.
Our broker says that none of this will be considered on a comparison or an appraisal. She says the fact that we have new 3/4" oak cabinets doesn't mean the value of our home is increased when compared with anther home that has 1/8" cabinets.
Answer: If homes were priced on a replacement basis, element by element, then each individual item would be valued and considered when a final offering price was made. In practice this does not happen. Instead, homes are sold as a package with lots of elements and no two packages are exactly alike. Thus your property may have better cabinets but another home may have nicer appliances or a bigger yard.
You must look at the big picture. A home with more quality will generally bring a higher price, but a buyer in most cases is going to evaluate the options in total.
Question: Everybody that looks at our home says it's perfect and they can't give us any ideas or suggestions to make it any better. Why can't we get a top price?
Answer: Let's think this through. To whom are people speaking? An owner. Why would they be anything but polite regarding the property? They have no interest in a debate and would gain no benefit explaining that the place is anything less than perfect.
But perhaps it's true that the house is "perfect," whatever it is that perfect may mean. Then the issue may be that the price is right, but not for the buyers met to date. It may take some time to pair the right property with the right buyer, especially in markets when home sales have slowed.
Question: Every broker who looks at our property says our price is good but then they come back and offer 10 to 15 percent below asking price. They ask us to pay all closing costs, all points, leave all appliances (which we are willing to do for the right price), make two monthly payments for the buyers and give a warrantee (we have been offering this from the beginning). Is this fair?
Answer: "Fair" has nothing to do with it. As a seller you want the best possible price and terms and buyers want no less. Each side will try to get the deal which is best for them.
A "good" price may not be sufficient to induce a buyer to make an offer. Moreover, what would you say if a broker said your property was grossly over-priced? That would probably not be a good conversation.
You surely have the right to make a counter-offer, but before doing so take a look at your market. Are homes quickly selling? Or do they linger on the market? Have you received any other offers?
Selling a home is difficult in the sense that more than money is involved. There are also questions of status and ego. You need to ask: How realistic is your price? Is it realistic enough to get the job done, to sell the home? Negotiating both price and terms is a routine and normal way to buy and sell property, except in exceptional seller markets -- and exceptional buyer markets.
For instance, in the recent past, buyers were making better than full price offers with no contingencies. Today such offers are gone. Instead, sellers are happy for a reasonable offer and will likely throw in whatever goodies are needed to make the deal work.
Steven Keefe, Broker/Owner 
