Software
Houzz Logo Print
suwannee75

One month.... one showing

18 years ago

Just looking for some input here. We tried FSBO for 2 months, then went with a realtor one month ago. In one month's time we have had one showing period. The realtor, who is very well regarded in the community, says that is the ONLY call she has received about our house -period. It is a contemporary style home, and completely updated with modern colors, new high end appliances, new carpet, tile, countertops, etc. It is in a very nice neighborhood. The price makes it one of the most affordable homes among its comps in terms of sq footage and bedrooms.

One showing, one call period just boggles my mind. Is this the state of the real estate market or do we need to do something else?

here is the link:

http://www.meybohm.com/details.aspx?keyword=kamel&mls=298032

Here is a link that might be useful: house

Comments (18)

  • 18 years ago

    Here is the website I made when it was FSBO. I think these pics are much better.

    Here is a link that might be useful: better pictures

  • 18 years ago

    What do the other houses for sale look like?
    If yours is different, it likely will take longer to sell.

  • 18 years ago

    Sounds like the other homes in the neighborhood are smaller and less expensive. This means they are pulling your value down a bit. Sounds like you need to do one of two things:

    1) Hire a certified appraiser to give you the current market value of your home
    2) Drop the price.

    No showings and no calls most often means you are priced too high. If you don't believe this is true, then go with option #1.

    When you hire that appraiser, make sure you are home and ask the appraiser what they are seeing that is selling, etc. They know about what is selling because they get called in for appraisals when homes are under contract and they know the contract price versus the appraised price and a whole lot more about the market.

    When I had a home appraised during a slow part of this market, the appraiser mentioned to me that he was seeing homes selling well UNDER the actual appraised value. Of course, this would then lower the appraised value of all nearby comparable homes once those homes sold for cheap(thus the declining market).

    Picking an appraiser's brain is a good thumbprint into the local market action. Plus you really do want to know what your home is worth in today's market. Else you could sit with the home for sale for a year or more if it is priced too high.

  • 18 years ago

    One problem I see right away is the curb appeal-it looks like the Brady Bunch house, and in CA that may work pretty well but I know here in GA (I'm in atlanta), that those houses appeal to a much smaller market. Plus, while your kitchen has a smooth, contemporary look that is in keeping with the exterior, the rest of the house is very traditional, like the red dining room (do any other color dining rooms exist in the south?) with the chair rails and the tall four poster beds. It's a conflict of style, rather than working from that style.

    Did your realtor give you a CMA for sold properties in Aumond Heights since 2004? You're going to have to go back to before the housing boom to get a good grasp on what sellers are willing to pay for your house now.

    Is the rest of your neighborhood stylistically the same as your house, or are you surrounded by Five Four and a Doors? That can hurt your price.

    If you can, I would paint the exterior anything other than brown. Maybe a dove gray with white trim-anything to make it look taller and bigger and brighter.

  • 18 years ago

    Nice website - add the MLS number as well as the price. Are you able to add html code to it? If so you should add meta tags with code words. I would use the web site, also start posting on craigslists, linking to the site you made.

    Zillow - I see it says for sale - price is wrong. There is also a Century 21 as the listing office. You also need to go to zillow and edit it to add any upgrades/updates you've done. The zestimate is reading $100k lower then what you are asking. This might hurt you, it affected us. Too bad I learned how to edit the info too far into our sale. Make sure you pick good comps.

    Realtor.com - your agent does not have enhanced listings. It is a basic page with one photo. Doing a search at realtor.com 5 bed/3bath there are 11 properties with you being one of the higher. I also did a search for 4 bedroom 2 bath, and see there is a lot of new construction. search results here starting at $200k

    I'm not nuts about your agents page, her picture is butted up right against your photos. I actually can't get the left 3 photos to click.

    Nice house. Looks like it shows well. Her photos are not as good as yours, some are a little blurry / dark. Every one of your photos are crisp, clear & bright. Doesn't look like she used a wide angle lens.

    I don't know your market, so what I posted was just from doing a general search. I would take a better main photo. Looking at realtor.com, the other houses are closer & brighter, due to the house color, it gets sucked into the background

  • 18 years ago

    I see nothing wrong with your listing. I am not into contemporary houses but you didn't do anything 'crazy' to it so that anyone with any taste could adapt to it.

    I think all the windows in your house are awesome! I would have loved to have seen a better picture of your pool.

    My only other suggestion is possibly a closer, more flattering picture of the front of the house.

    Good luck!

  • 18 years ago

    Your pictures are so dark it is difficult to see anything. Have a professional retake them and have the realtor exchange them. Even your FSBO pictures are dark so I suspect you'll need proper lighting to make the house photograph well.

    While some areas have great contemporary markets, for the most part this design takes longer to sell.

    I agree that one showing either shows a completely dead market or too high a price. Definitely get a new appraisal using an appraiser and not just Realtor comps.

  • 18 years ago

    We have a two year old appraisal with an appraised value that is 100K more than our asking price. Is that appraisal now outdated?

    Zillow has our house listed at a 95k drop in value in the last 30 days. What the heck???? It doesnt even have a correct picture of the house listed.

  • 18 years ago

    Zillow is very very inaccurate -- I'd never ever go on what Zillow says, it's for entertainment purposes only.

    A two year old appraisal, especially in this market, is also very inaccurate. Your realtor should have done a market analysis of your area using recent sold comps to help you arrive at your asking price.

    I agree with posters above that say one showing in one month may be indicative of a problem with price. Ask your realtor for recent sold comps to find out where you stack up price wise.

  • 18 years ago

    Forget about Zillow and get a new appraisal. Two years was several lifetimes ago in the housing market.

  • 18 years ago

    Zillow is very very inaccurate -- I'd never ever go on what Zillow says, it's for entertainment purposes only.

    Yes, I know it is inaccurate but buyers look at it. She can go in and add her updates, get 3 decent comps (hopefully) and raise the zestimate herself. I was able to for our spring selling season.

    The funny thing is, before I did this, the really low offer we got was in line with what zillow said.

  • 18 years ago

    Your decorating is gorgeous and you have a beautiful patio. I lived in Augusta for many years and I know your neighborhood. You have a big family home but from what I remember, your schools are so so. Your neighborhood is an established Augusta neighborhood but out of towners might find the area dated. Families might be worried that the people that live in the neighborhood are older (no one for kids to play with). If someone wanted to move just a few miles out of town that could get a newer house in a young family neighborhood with better schools.

    All that being said, I'm guessing that your price is too high.

  • 18 years ago

    It may be my computer or my eyes, but the photos on the realtor's site seem slightly out-of-focus and dark to me. (The ones on the FSBO site are slightly better.) I didn't even know you had a pool until I looked at the FSBO site. :-( You need to highlight this area more on the realtor's site.

    You have a beautiful house, but nothing in it really stands out to me as "special" or "unique." But I'm not really into granite or stainless steel or wood floors--all overrated features in my mind.

    Yes, your appraisal is too old. Two years is a lifetime ago in the housing market. Get it updated and get some recent (no later than six months) comps. I'd say you are overpriced for this market.

  • 18 years ago

    I see your home only has a 2 car carport and it doesn't seem to have a garage. That could really be a deal breaker for many buyers. Do your comps have garages or carports? Can the carport be converted into a garage by attaching a garage door? If so, I strongly suggest that and think that is more important than many of the other features of this home.

  • 18 years ago

    I don't know your area but price is not always the determining factor of why homes don't get shown. Contemporary homes have a limited market, they are for specific people, some people (alot of people) won't even look at a contemp. Someone said your schools are so, so, this could be part of the problem also. The outside pictures look a little dated to me, (not sure if its gold paint on the front or what)

    If the schools are "so so" then your agent needs to direct her marketing towards a buyer who a contemp would appeal to, its not necessarily a home for a family, perhaps she is targeting families with her advertising.

  • 18 years ago

    If I had 3 young children & a dog...while it's lovely all of the glass doors & walls of glass would cause me to pass on your home. I'd want to just sit down & cry thinking about trying to keep up with the finger & paw prints. :(

    I agree with Linda about needing to be very target specific with advertising. While not in the majority, there are people who love contemporary homes. Rather than downplay it...I'd advertise it strongly as a contemporary trying to catch the attention of one of those people. Play up what you have...a lovely, updated home on a nice lot, & in nice location. Not everybody cares about schools &, I'm guessing, your buyer won't.

    Keep up with pricing & stay out in front of your market. Being priced just at comps probably won't get it sold in today's market. I'm starting to sound like a broken record around here but I'm convinced prices are soon going down much sharper than we've witnessed so far.

    /tricia

  • 18 years ago

    I'd market that as a mid-century modern home. Here in Dallas, those sell fast at a premium.

    Your decor, unfortunately, totally clashes with the architecture of the house.