Is your listing still competing in a changing market
I have some clients coming from out of town in a few weeks to view homes in preparation for their relocation to Charleston. They have been receiving auto notifications of all new listings that come on the market that meet their criteria and they also get updates on any price changes. I get a copy of the email sent and sometimes it piques my interest to click through and see what is happening.
Last Monday, I noticed a $10,000 price reduction on a home from $269,900 to $259,900 and on Tuesday, I noticed another $10,000 price reduction on a similar but slightly smaller house on the same street from $264,900 to $254,900. I thought to myself, here is a smart seller with a good real estate agent who pays attention to what is happening in the market and keeps up with changing market conditions.
But that isn't the end of the story. 
It got my attention so I thought I would review all the available homes for sale in the neighborhood and see what else might be available and now we get to the reason for writing. On the very same street is another house that has been on the market for about the same length of time as the other 2 houses, the measurements, pictures and descriptions indicate this house could be very similar to house number 1 and it is being offered for $276,900.
So I waited through the rest of last week and weekend watching for the expected and obvious price reduction and nothing happened. I just clicked on the MLS to make sure of the price rather than wait for the midnight auto notification and the price is still holding at $276,900. What is going on and why does the seller and their agent feel the house is worth $17,000 to $22,000 more than other competing properties?
Or are neither paying attention to changes in the market? 
The Charleston South Carolina real estate market is probably not that different from many other markets across the country today. There is twice the inventory of previous years competing for 20% fewer buyers since qualifying for a mortgage currently requires more documentation than being able to fog a mirror when breathing. There are over 7,000 single family homes available for sale and approximately 1000 homes sold each month and what that basically means is that 1 out of 7 houses will sell and the other 6 will sit unsold, unloved and unwanted.
Seller tip: If you are selling and the market conditions are changing, be prepared to change. When competing properties in your street or neighborhood have reduced their prices, market conditions have changed. Understand what houses are competing with yours if you want to sell and stay competitive.
If all that isn't bad enough, the original price at $276,900 makes no sense to me from a marketing standpoint either. When the real estate consumer shops online for real estate, they search in ranges. If someone is looking for a house from $250,000 to $275,000, your house will not return as part of the search results. Had the home been priced only $1900 less for starters, it would have priced at a tipping point where buyers could find it searching from $250 to $275 and from $275 to $300. At this point, it's too late, the competition is pricing to sell and this house is pricing to sit and collect cobwebs.
