Stop Forcing It
One of the main issues with the market right now (besides it’s obviously ‘flattened’ state) is that people can’t seem to come to terms with the fact that their property isn’t worth as much as they think it should be. Startling, but true. This mentality unfortunately appears to be budding because, for some reason or another, sellers seem to think that by selling for less than what their property was worth when the market peaked (or less than their own made-up magical number), that they’re going to be out on the street once they sell, unable to afford a suitable home…Newsflash: The whole market’s doing bad, not just your property.
When the market takes a dive the only way to build it back up is for the inventory to keep moving…otherwise we just end up with a bunch of broke angry people who’ll die of old age in the properties they never sold. It’s a very rugged reality, and we’re compassionate for you, but by sitting there and trying to force a high market price for your property, you: a) aren’t going to sell your place, because (surprise!) the comparable market value of similar properties will obviously be set lower, leaving no buyer in their right mind with a reason to spend another $30k-$50k on your property, and b) contributing to what’s turning into a serious housing traffic jam.
Whether you like it or not, as a seller, you can make a choice. You can choose to sell your place, deal with the loss, get a new one, wait for the market to recover and cash in then; OR, you can stick it out, stay grumpy, and hope that you’re still around when your property value finally ‘comes back’.
So, this goes out to all sellers who are giving buyers headaches with this issue: Please keep in mind that it’s not just your listing price that’s low. It’s everybody’s. Just by taking a bit of a dive from your ‘magical number’ doesn’t mean you’re going to be homeless. It means you’re going through the market recovery motions. You’ll still be able to find a new place at a reasonable price, so don’t sweat it and bite the bullet already! After all, they call it a competitive market for a reason.
image courtesy of skidkid
