Weston FL Real Estate Blog-The Real Deal: Sellers should think like an appraiser ...not like a seller!

Sellers should think like an appraiser ...not like a seller!

Selling Real Estate in FL can be a nice and pleasant experience or it can become stressful especially if you are just spinning your wheels and go nowhere. All it will get you is plenty of flying mud and you'll most certainly never reach you goal of successfully selling your home.
As of this morning...there are about 40,000 homes available for sale in Broward County FL. Over 22,000 of them are either condo's or townomes.

The rest are single family homes with totals reaching over 17,000. Without going into an into too many details I will be that over 65% of these available properties are considered overpriced and will most certainly never sell unless homeowners start to get realistic by pricing them correctly. Many of these properties are also are available to rent as well. It's basically which ever comes first. The rest of these homes just sit for very long periods with homeowners hoping someone will come see the property and make them an offer.

Now here's the problem.... let's use a condo as an example and say the seller wants to price it at $260,000. I show them that the most recent sales over the last 90 days show that the comparables in their building are at $220,000 and $225,000.

There is one pending sale at $195,000. Although there is no way for us to determine the closing price...in this market it will most likely close at or below their asking price. Just in your area alone...there are over 1600 condo's waiting on line to sell and most of them are sitting empty.
Which line do you want to be on?

Think of it like being on the line at the supermarket. Do you want to be on the longest line or the shortest line?

As your Re altor®.... it's my job to help the homeowner by giving them the most realistic pricing goals.... but if they still don't get then they are sure to sit in limbo and start wondering why there are no offers let a lone any showings.

I've been in this business for over 12 yrs and I've spoken to many appraisers to get their views and how they actually do their job.

Most appraisers will look at 2-3 closed sales within 3-6 months but in this type of market...they tend to look more within the last 90 days since prices continue to drop daily. They also look at 1 pending sale and the available inventory just to review the history on how many times they have reduced the price. A new thing I have noticed that they are looking at is how many homes are on the verge of foreclosure and how many are trying to do a short sale.

There are many new challenges for them to deal with and they need to work harder in order to properly make the right analysis in this ever-changing market.

If I list your condo at $260,000 but there is no way for me to get it to the closing table well then I'd rather turn you down now instead of letting you down in 6-12 months when it doesn't sell. I would love nothing more than to sell your property at the highest price possible.

Let's face it...I do...then you make more money and in most cases I do as well. But wouldn't it make more sense to sell it at a reachable price instead of this false price that you may never get? If you decide to wait for the market to change then that's your decision but if you're expecting a quick turn around then you're mistaken. You might also realize in 6-12 months that you were wrong and now you ask me to price where I originally suggested.... only to find out it's worth even less now.

So if you're looking for a babysitter...then I'm not the one for the job. I'm a Realtor®...that's who I am.

If you think banks were tough then.... you haven't seen anything yet. Guidelines are even tougher now than 6 months ago.

If I list the property at $260,000 like you asked and we get a buyer willing to pay your price then I guess you'll be very happy but what happens when the bank only appraises it at $220,000? Then what will you do? Banks will not lend the buyer money if appraises for less. The only solution is to renegotiate it at the appraised price or back out of the deal.

The only way you will not be required to have your property appraised when you purchase is if you pay cash and even now many smart buyers will appraise it anyway.
It's your choice and you should ask yourself the question..... do you want to own it or do you want to sell it?
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