Oh, I’m sure they don’t ALL apply to any market! One tip I edited out because the post was getting too long was to talk with friends and others in the neighborhood to see where THEY think your home should be priced.

It all boils down to how long you’re willing to wait.

One agent I talked with said that the ONLY reason a piece of real estate doesn’t sell is the price. She said she could sell the Chernobyl nuclear facility if the price was low enough. If it’s low enough, *someone* will buy it regardless of condition.

The idea of pricing the home wherever you want is sound because it gives you some negotiating room. I might even suggest intentionally starting 5% to 10% higher than you normally would so you could advertise that you dropped it 15%. The whole idea is to get that top dollar and to get it quickly!

_{»crosslinked«}

He listened to his Realtor and priced at $x. No offers. I said “don’t wait; since the market is declining drop your price 15% NOW. You really don’t want it to sit on the market.” He dropped his price 15%, and the house had 3 offers and sold for 1% ABOVE his new price within a week. He said “I should have listened to you to begin with — would have saved me a couple payments on the house.”

My suggestion: Price it at whatever you want, and if you haven’t received any offers within 90 days (or a bit longer if you can afford it), drop the price by 20%. No hand-wringing and no “waiting for a better offer.” It won’t come in this market. Besides, lower-priced houses will sometimes engage a small bidding war (like the situation my friend had.)

I couldn’t be a Realtor because most people are overly emotionally invested in their homes, and they don’t want to hear what I have to say. But if everyone followed the 90 days/20% rule (and again after another 90 days), we’d have a lot more realistic market out there.