Coastal Florida Real Estate

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with the owner of a large home in Tequesta ($ 1,000,000+) regarding selling his home.

We met twice for nearly 2 hours total and the discussion centered on the pricing, not on the "marketing" which is usually the case.

This seller had spent a career on Wall Street and so he was very aware that numbers don't lie and that the market is....well exactly what buyers who are not under duress will pay.  Unfortunately, in the stock & bond market you can get an instant quote on securities you might want to sell.  In the housing market you don't have this option.  This is why dynamic market positioning is so important.

He had purchased the house in spring of 2006, which was exactly the top of the market here.  He agreed to this and that the market had declined certainly more than 20% since he bought.  but he would not surrender to the facts that his house is worth less than he paid for it.

And, he has been trying to sell the house at more than he paid for it for over 500 days!  The average time for a house to be on the market in Palm Beach County is 150 days and 130 for Jupiter.

Anyway, to get on with the story he had narrowed his search down to me and one other agent (the agent who had the property improperly priced for the last 500 days).  He chose the other agent and listed the house at 97% of his purchase price.

Sure, I would like to have had the listing.  But at this price, its not a listing its just a home where a seller is expecting a miracle.  And you can bet that every time the phone rings and the agent sees his name on the ID, the agent will wonder what to say to him this time.

So much inventory could be moved if sellers were realistic and agents had the confidence to do the right thing and price the property correctly.

I have learned that you never get a second call from a seller even when the house doesn't sell.  I think their pride keeps them from making that call.

So much for right now.  Don't forget Florida sales are up for the 16th month and interest rates are low.  If you are thinking about selling, "Git 'er done".

Here's the update.  On April 9, the house sits unsold for another 126 days and at the same price.  If you don't think I'm right, go read my post called, "Case Study # 19, Catching a falling knife".