Anyone have their house on the market?

[gigi1976]

We have had our house on the market for 8 days and I'm depressed already! We have only had one couple look at, granted they have looked twice, but I hoped to see more traffic! We have it priced really aggressively to get it sold for a job relocation, so I thought we would see more by now. Our agent is blaming it on Mardi Gras, St Patricks Day and gloomy cold rainy weather, but I'm still depressed! Do you think those reasons are viable or is there something else I should do?

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My neighbor had theirs on the market for a month and only had 1 showing. They've pulled it off the market and plan on trying again in Mid-May.

Their agent said it's just really, really slow right now.

I will miss them if they move. They are great neighbors.

 

[Debbie7452]

8 days? The real estate market is in a shambles. Our house was on the market for two years before it sold, after an 80,000 price reduction. We had very badly overpriced our home right before the real estate market crashed, so I take some of the blame for it taking that long. I hope you have better luck.

 

[Frannie115]

Our house was also on the market for almost 2 years. Started at $310K and finally sold at $250K. It was valued at $300K. This was in 2009. I don't think the market has changed much.

I believe the average days on market for our area now is about 10 months. A showing in the first 8 days is great. Don't be too surprised if it's weeks in between showings. I know it can get depressing, believe me.

But....you never know. It only takes one buyer

 

[J3nn78]

Not to be Debbie Downer, but you better prepare yourself for MANY months on the market and then have the chance of being pleasantly surprised if it goes sooner. In my area, the houses on the market have been there for 1-2 years with very few of them selling. THe house we just bought was on the market for just under 2 years.

 

[minnie1928]

It totally depends on the area. A good friend of mine listed her house in early February and had a great offer within 2 weeks (97% of listing price).

But as far as your agent blaming it on St. Pats, Mardi Gras, etc. I think that's a bunch of bull. If someone is truly serious about buying a house, and a serious contender comes onto the market I would think that they are going to go check it out. I'd blame it more on the trend that people like to move more over the summer (so kids are out of school) and right now it's a bit early to buy with that thought in mind.

 

[gigi1976]

Not to be Debbie Downer, but you better prepare yourself for MANY months on the market and then have the chance of being pleasantly surprised if it goes sooner. In my area, the houses on the market have been there for 1-2 years with very few of them selling. THe house we just bought was on the market for just under 2 years.

Actually in some twisted, messed up way that makes me feel better! Like okay I overreacted, my house isn't terrible, I just need to be patient. I can do that, I think! It's just hard keeping it clean with 3 kids and knowing my DH is starting his new job soon. Thanks all for your advice!

 

[fairestoneofall]

i wouldn't be too worried after eight days--that isn't long at all.

we put ours on the market in November, right before Thanksgiving. we knew it would be slow at that time because of the holidays. our showings started to pick up in late January.

our realtor works with a pretty big office. they have a caravan of realtors from the closest office come through. when we did that, our showings definitely picked up. i don't know if that's something that your realtor's office does or not--it's worth asking.

good luck to you!

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I don't know what part of STL you are in. We lived in West County and listed with an agent we had used and really liked a few years prior. I did not know it but she had alienated a lot of people who would not show her listings. She of course made many excuses why the market was slow such as you are hearing.
I got out of that listing thankfully. Another agent suggested I list for more than it was but we were desparate to sell, kept it at the same price, and got a contract in about 10 days with the new agent.
PM me if you want more info.
Good luck with your sale and move!

 

[Sinderelly]

Our house has been on the market 20 days and has had one showing. The couple that looked at our house LOVED it but they want to look at houses for a couple months before they make a decision. The market is really slow right now. I am also impatient The Mardi Gras St Patricks excuses sound a little strange to me. OP I hope we both get some pixie dust and our houses sell very soon.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Is Mardi Gras a big deal in St. Louis? Mardi Gras could be a perfectly reasonable explanation for not looking at a house here, but in St. Louis?

For what it's worth, I looked at houses in gloomy weather, the day after a heavy rainstorm. It turned out to be a great time to look at houses because it made some drainage issues apparent at some of the houses we saw. So, I don't think weather is a particularly valid excuse either.

Late spring and summer are supposedly the busiest times for house sales; like a PP said, families with children are trying to move in between school years. I would just try to be patient. I know it's difficult. Growing up we moved a few times and I always hated when the house was on the market because we had to clean ALL THE TIME. Once we had my dad move for the job and we stayed behind until the end of the school year, and another time we all left the house behind and moved before it sold. Both times, we used furnished apartments to bridge the gap. The first time, it was just my dad in the apartment in the new location, the second time it was the whole family.

My parent's house is on the market now. They are also getting very few showings. The house is priced well, staged well, and has good photos available online. There are just a lot of comparable houses for sale and not a lot of qualified buyers.

If there is a way to get feedback from the couple that looked twice but didn't want it, that could be valuable information. Good luck!

 

[shelwoj]

We have ours listed right now and it's been on the market for one month. We've not had anyone come to the house but we've had a LOT of online traffic. Our agent feels that things will pick up when the weather gets better.

We're lucky that 1) we aren't underwater in our mortgage 2) we already have our next house and 3) next house is already paid for. Since we're not moving until our son graduates I'm not getting too antsy.

We met a professor yesterday at Capital University whose family is still in Chicago because they haven't been able to sell their house. It's been on the market almost a year.

Just hang in there, it'll work out eventually. That's what I keep telling DH anyway!

 

[Darcy03231]

I have friends who are realtors and the average listing time where I live is 9 months to a year. Of course, there are exceptions to that, but that's the average. Some houses can go months without a showing and then have 2 or 3 right in a row. There's a lot of houses out on the market and not a lot of qualified buyers. Unless you've priced your house well under market value or there is something that makes it extremely attractive to buyers, be prepared for it to take a while.

Some things you can do, if you haven't already, declutter, move half the stuff out of your closets and cabinets (makes them look bigger), fresh paint, depersonalize, move stuff off your counters, take out any unnecessary furniture (makes the rooms look bigger), clean out the garage (if you have one). You might need to rent a storage unit, but it will help your house show better.

We plan to put our house on the market within the next five years and these aer some of the things realtors have told me. We're very lucky that we live in a pocket of the city where homes tend to move pretty quickly if they're priced for the market because we're in the area with the in demand elementary, middle and high schools and there's only one small area with all three.

 

[Eeyore1928]

We had our house on market for 2 years....have it off now. We are getting ready to put it back on, but for sale by owner. That way we can lower the price 20,000 right from the start ( realtor commission). Hoping this helps

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Friends of ours put their house on the market last Feb. and finally took it off last Oct. They put it back on last month. I think they have had 2 showings in the past 2 weeks. They have it priced lower than it was when they took it off the market last year, it is in a FABULOUS neighborhood, but the market is squishy. There are 2 other houses on their street for sale and those aren't doing anything either.

 

[mom4graceandlogan]

In this market one showing in 8 days is great! My house has been for sale for 10 months and I doubt we will be able to sell it in the next six months. Things are really bad here. I also have 3 kids and it has been the worst year of my life trying to get it ready for showings and not knowing anyone will come. I have a 2 year old boy that trashes it as soon as I clean it and agents are bad about giving very little notice even though they are supposed to give at least 2 hours notice. They have literally called from the driveway.My husband is changing jobs. Same company but he was in a position where he worked from home 2 days a week. Now he has to go to office 5 days a week with a 3 plus hour commute so we really need to move. He is replacing someone that moved here from Charlotte and has not been able to sell his house in over a year and he has been living in a hotel and only seeing his family on weekends. It is so bad where he is he is moving back because they can't sell. We get feedback from every person that comes through. Everyone says loved house, priced right well cared for in their comments, but no one can get a mortgage or sell their house or they are also looking at foreclosures that are 25% less. We have made price drops but have not wanted to drop to a foreclosure price yet. ON the up side you have entered the market at a great time of year so it is probably your best chance to sell by summer. We rented a POD and moved out everything that was nonessential, staged the house, put on a fresh coat of paint , had carpets cleaned etc. to put our best foot forward, but still no luck. We had one offer early on but it did not work out. Look at the number of foreclosures and there pricepoint. People I know are just walking away from their mortgages and some are loosing them because employment is down. They banks are dumping them so low. A foreclore down the street was for sale for $850,000. Huge, new, on ten acres. Bank just sold it for low $400,000s. I live on a Lake and lake houses that sold for $600000 plus three years ago are being listed under $400,000. I hope the market is better where you are and that the market that you move to is a buyers market because there are great deals if you can sell.

 

[mombrontrent]

I feel bad for everyone trying to sell their houses right now in the U.S. I knew the market was slow but I didn't realize it was that bad. I live in Canada and sold a house last spring. I was in panic mode when it took 6 weeks, 2 open houses and 30 showings to sell. I was so stressed and thought it took way to long to sell, I couldn't imagine being at it for years. My neighbour sold her house in a day, my cousin sold hers before it was even officially listed and many people I know sold within a week of listing so 6 weeks felt like forever to me, but I guess it's all relative. Good luck to everyone!

 

[QVCshopper]

I am in SE PA and have been looking for a while. Here, houses in two really good school districts sell like hotcakes. Honestly, they are selling in one week, sometimes less. We've been interested in bidding on three of them, and all three sold within days of going on the market for listing price. I went to an open house today—listed at $525k--and there were about five couples walking through at the same time. It's nuts. But, I dont think our area has been impacted like the others.

It's depressing as a buyer; on the other hand, both houses in my neighborhood also sold within a couple of months. So, that's good for me.

I think this is the only time people like me have been able to afford these schools. They have many many $1 million and up houses. So, it really depends on where you live.

Our area has many big companies, like QVC, Vanguard, Pfizer, Wyeth, etc. and they are saving us.

 

[gigi1976]

Thanks for the pixie dust y'all! We just had another showing! Believe in the power of Pixie Dust!!!

 

[Darcy03231]

I am in SE PA and have been looking for a while. Here, houses in two really good school districts sell like hotcakes. Honestly, they are selling in one week, sometimes less. We've been interested in bidding on three of them, and all three sold within days of going on the market for listing price. I went to an open house today—listed at $525k--and there were about five couples walking through at the same time. It's nuts. But, I dont think our area has been impacted like the others.

It's depressing as a buyer; on the other hand, both houses in my neighborhood also sold within a couple of months. So, that's good for me.

I think this is the only time people like me have been able to afford these schools. They have many many $1 million and up houses. So, it really depends on where you live.

Our area has many big companies, like QVC, Vanguard, Pfizer, Wyeth, etc. and they are saving us.

This is what its like in my neighborhood. Its only a small area that has the in demand elementary, middle and high schools. The house two doors down from me sold in 2 days for over asking price (and it was priced for the market, not underpriced). There was a bidding war. I'm hoping that happens when we're ready to sell!