I just sold a condo on Miami Beach in 67 days. Considering today’s market, this was a pretty big achievement for my sellers.
So how did “we” do it?
First, I am going to start with the “we” because selling a property is not all about the Realtor and the fancy brochures; it is about everyone involved in the process. The Realtor needs to be on top of their game and a smart educator about the market, where it is headed and what the Sellers can do to best position the property to sell. The Seller also has a huge role to play in doing their part during the listing process from making good choices about pricing to keeping the property in good condition while listed. It’s a team effort.
In selling a property what matters most are price, condition, location and in today’s market the most important… Seller motivation.
If these core basics are understood by everyone involved, combined with really good weekly market updates, actively showing the property when calls come in and keeping the unit in tip/top shape throughout the listing time, then all of these factors combined are good strategy to get the property sold.
The emotions of coulda, woulda, shoulda have to be gone. If you cannot afford to sell now, then don’t. The reality is that there are still plenty of Sellers around that are not dire or desperate. Some are only selling because they just don’t feel that financially or for some other reason it makes sense to hold on to the property. Many of them still have equity in their properties and will make a little money; they are just not necessarily selling at a time that is the most advantageous time to sell in the history of selling in our marketplace.
If this is you please know that it’s not all death, toll and destruction.
Location, Condition, Price and Seller Motivation
Let’s take my Seller’s property as an example. The unit was located in a prime area of South Beach, so the location condition was met perfectly. The building was in good condition. The unit was a little dated from the original period of when the place was built; however the unit was super clean and in the best original condition. I even gave my Sellers a checklist of things “to do”. They did it over one weekend and we listed the property for sale.
As soon as the property was listed in the MLS and I started my marketing program, I held a Broker’s Open to get feedback and show to any potential Brokers that may have had clients interested in this building. It was a success and the feedback was positive but for the next few weeks… no calls. Weekly I pulled comps and suggested to the Sellers where we needed to be in terms of price to start getting showings.
If it’s PRICED RIGHT, there will be showings. It may not be the price from last year, but there will be a price based on the current market that the property will sell. This is key; Price right to get Showings. Then if the unit shows well and it is priced right, offers should come very soon. If not, consider the feedback from the showings and quickly come up with a new strategy based on the feedback. If you start hearing more than once, “it’s cute but it’s so dark”. Figure out a way to make it lighter.
From the original listing price, we did four aggressive price reductions to get it to where it needed to be to get potential buyers in the door.
This leads me to next biggie: Seller Motivation. If you don’t “have” to sell your property over the next few months, if you don’t have a true “vision” or “goal” in mind to sell the property and you are making the payments every month… don’t put it on the market. It doesn’t make sense to just list it to “see what will happen.”
Here’s what will happen without a true motivation to sell today… NOTHING.
Of course if you sell now, you are going to get far less your asking price than if you would have sold a couple years back. That’s the reality of this market, so if you are not motivated to sell now, don’t.
Buyers are very savvy; they have access to all of the MLS listings online through a million different websites. If they are actively seeking a property to buy in your building or general area, they will probably know more about your unit than anyone else. Often they know the building inside and out, the floor plans and all of the price points. If you are priced too high, they will skip right over you.
Another core thinking point on pricing right and seller motivation is pricing in comparison to similar units in the building and the general marketplace. You cannot set a price on your property based solely on the other units pricing in your building. Let me say it again, you cannot set a price on your property based solely on the other units pricing in your building. Had my clients based their pricing solely on the other units in the building, they would still be on the market today. At our last price reduction when we started getting showings and at a price when the unit got an offer that eventually went to the closing table, we were approximately $60,000 less than the next cheapest unit on the market (in the same building). Then you may to say to me, “well of course Jamey if you make it super cheap, then the buyers will come running.” My answer to that is that even though we were $60,000 less than the next cheapest unit in the building, in similar units in the same marketplace, we were close to #20 on the list from the bottom of pricing.
Although it’s key to consider the other units in the building, you must also go out to the regular market place and price competitively against similar units in the same area. It’s not realistic to think that buyers are only looking in one building. It’s also not realistic to think that units are priced well in accordance to the market within your building.
So, to sum it all up, if you want to sell today you must consider, PRICE, LOCATION, CONDITION & MOTIVATION. The team needs to be the Realtor and the Sellers. Everyone needs to be on the same page with the same focus. The truth and the reality of the marketplace can be a little disheartening, especially if want you want to sell today. The good news is that if you have a true desire to sell, it can be done.
