It may be a realtor who is afraid of losing the listing who is pushing to get the house on the market. It may be a seller who, now that they have decided to sell, wants it on the market yesterdayl There could be seasonal issues, school beginning or school ending issues, relocating to another state for a new job time restraints. It may be a divorce situation where the sellers are anxious to get on with their lives.
It doesn't really matter what the reason is, too many sellers are prematurely listing their houses.
I've heard it over and over again...sellers don't have the time to make the suggested improvements. They can't afford to wait two weeks to get it on the market. "Listed" somehow means "sold" and getting the house on the market becomes the priority.
Unfortunately, and ironically for these sellers, the act of rushing onto the market is what ultimately keeps the house on longer than need be. Today's buyers are not interested in making improvements. They want move-in-ready. Worn carpet or dated wallpaper not only represents work to buyers, it also suggests that the house wasn't properly maintained and other areas of the home become suspect.
This seller was ready to list, believing that removing the worn, dated carpet was not necessary. The Realtor and I convincing him to delay listing until the carpet could be removed and some accessories could be added made a huge difference on the quality of product being marketed. Taking the extra time resulted in increased perceived value.
For those sellers that do list prematurely, once they realize their mistake, the house's "days on market" are accumulating. Too many days on market leads to a price reduction.
A sellers best chance at getting closest to asking price is in the first two weeks, when the price and the interest in the house are at their highest. You only get one shot at that just-listed popularity. Just-listed interest is so short lived...can you really afford not to be prepared?
Here is my advice to anyone considering selling their home. Make the best use of your time. Take the time necessary to properly prepare the house for sale. Do not list until the house is completely ready to be shown.
It's not time and money saved when you cut corners, it is actually time and money lost.
Time spent on improvements increases your chance of selling and decreases your chance of price reductions.
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You are correct except so many sellers never "get around to it" to get the needed repairs done.
I like it . . . I like it a lot! We are too hurried with everything. Time is money; but not always in the sense we first interpret that! we think hurry -- time is money. But often, TAKING time is MORE money! love the post! Great job!
I think this should become a common real estate term! Extremely valuable post!
I agree with you completely! Your pictures are perfect to illustrate the point.
Very well stated. I hope the public and the realtors in your area hear you
Yeap..and well said. Being in a hurry to get the house prepped is a good thing but hurrying into a listing is NOT. Proper preparation is so key. When the house is truly ready sometimes the first potential buyer IS THE honest to goodness BUYER. Don't let them get away...listen to Sharon!
You are SO RIGHT! I recently staged an owner occupied home that has been on the market 9 months and is on its 3rd real estate company (beautiful home, nice furnishings, too much stuff in every room before staging was completed!). The second realtor in line was invited back to see the home, which has been transformed since it was staged. It now shows as a premium listing that she no longer represents!
She ended up calling me and I went to view a new listing she has just gotten. I believe she has since learned her lesson about not listing a home until it is READY because she and yesterday's homeowners both agreed (after seeing the befores and afters of the first home I mentioned) that they would not list their home until it was staged to the 9's and looking its best!
Its so nice to see that a little headway is being made in this emerging market in which I work.
Ha, ha, ha Sharon!
Thanks for the giggle this morning, I love your phrasing "Premature Listing Syndrome"!!! Spot on w/ that advice.
I recently had a client who was trying to decide whether to have me over before or after the L.A. was going to take photos and list the property. Luckily I saw them before.
Thanks again!
We need to work hand in hand with the realtors. I ask my realtors to list the house and tell the home owners that the house will go on the market in "two weeks or so" after they meet witht he stager.
They have their listing contract in hand and I get my chance.
Susan Good point, the fact that the homeowner may never get around to it is one more reason to hire a stager who will make sure the necessary improvements are made.
Karen Thank you! Now we just need to help the sellers understand.
Sharon- That carpet is gross! I can only imagine what it looked like in person! This is definitely a common syndrome, and perhaps our next challenge. People are starting to get the whole staging concept, we just need to get them to call us SOONER!!!
Melissa and Tori Thank you so much!
Virginia From your lips to their ears!! Thank you.
Ginger "Listen to Sharon" Now those are words to live by! Thank you so much!
Janis That is awesome! You not only gained a client, you helped to educate someone!
Cynthia I had a client try to schedule me after the painter and I said "you know, if my appointment is before the painter, I may be able to assist you in determining which rooms to paint and what colors to use." She was actually surprised, she hadn't thought of that.
Elaine It was really bad. The realtor had mentioned maybe pulling it up, but the homeowner refused. She actually told me not to mention it, she was walking on egg shells with this seller. I saw my opportunity to mention it, I did, he got defensive, I convinced him...ta da! The realtor was quite impressed with my power of persuasion. I will admit, I was pretty nervous until the carpet was up and we saw the condition of the wood floor underneath.
I asked the listing agent if they can please wait until after staging to put photos in the MLS and also to wait for showings. Most of the time they do wait.
Corina That is great when it works out that way. I continue to be surprised when the pictures go on MLS before the house is completely ready. Thanks for commenting.
Hey Sharon,
This conversation sounds familiar!!!! I agree with you that sometimes Realtors are putting their interests over that of the seller when they don't honestly let them know that the house needs a little sprucing up - even if it means that the listing may not happen for a few weeks. I guess sometimes we are so worried about about "losing the listing" that we rush forward to get it on the market. If we instead coach our sellers on the appropriate repairs/staging that needs to be done, perhaps we will earn their trust and they will recognize that we are working for them and they will then wait to list it with us instead of the next person that walks in the door ready to tell them how wonderful their home looks with their fingers crossed behind their back. Keep up the good fight - I'm right there with you.
PS - whenever I have a home that needs work - but don't want to "lose" the listing - I have the owner get started right away and still have my sign out front that says "Coming Soon!" Perk some interst and phone calls.
Lisa
Lisa Thanks for stopping by. As a stager, I will take whatever support I can get when it comes to educating sellers on the importance of the preparation that goes into listing a house for sale. Allowing them the time to get their house show ready is a risk some Realtors won't take. Your clients are fortunate you understand the advantage of waiting until the house is ready. Good idea to have that sign marking your territory!