Charleston Real Estate Blog

Pricing to sell your home in today's Charleston South Carolina real estate market

What are some sellers thinking? There are flippers who are flopping and sellers who still don't understand that you have to price your home correctly from the day you list in order to sell for the best possible price. An analysis of home sales in the Charleston South Carolina real estate market shows that many homes are selling but many more are sitting unsold and unloved with price reductions still not attracting a good contract. In some cases, the seller blames the listing agent and fires the agent, hires a new agent, sometimes is still unrealistic and the house still doesn't sell. Possibly on the theory that the 3rd time is the charm, another agent is hired, the house is finally priced to sell and lo and behold, months later, hopefully a sale.

Which sign do you want in your front yard?

 or this

Start with the right price and the likelihood of accomplishing your goal is significantly better.

And please don't try to flip. If you've been inspired by television shows showing you how easy it is, forget that idea. First of all, it is television entertainment, second, the shows are probably reruns and finally, with that in mind, the market has changed since the heyday of the flipper. I've described several ill fated attempts at flipping, most recently, this effort. Quick update:

• 3/30 bought for $650,000
• 5/15 listed for $699,900
• 6/5 reduced to $689,900
• 7/18 reduced to $679,900 
• it appears to be time for another price reduction, days on market, 90 and counting

I'm currently looking at some homes for clients and I've noticed a couple of more examples of pricing high, reducing the price and changing agents.

• 1/5 listed for $324,900
• 1/19 reduced to $299,900
• 3/3 reduced to $288,000
• 5/3 reduced to $274,900
• 7/15 increased to $279,000
• 7/24 changed agent
• 7/30 changed agent again
• 7/30 reduced to $260,000

Here's another flip / flop with a similar history:

• 1/18 bought for $250,000
• 4/18 listed for $325,000
• 5/21 reduced to $299,999
• 6/13 reduced to $279,000
• 7/3 changed agent
• 7/3 increased to $289,000
• 7/25 reduced to $259,000
• 7/31 reduced to $240,000

What are these sellers thinking when they are pricing their homes?

The first several weeks is critical in terms of pricing. You need to generate traffic to view your home and only well priced houses will get traffic. After a month or two on the market, the price reductions may begin but nothing really changes. Why? Because every single buyer that I have worked with since I began in real estate years ago has one question in common.

How long has the house been on the market?

If it's been on the market a while, they generally have another follow up question.

What's wrong with it?

While I don't want to see anyone listing their home for too little and "leaving money on the table", there is a reasonable price range to be within and depending on your circumstances, either wanting a quick sale for a little less or a slower sale for a little more, unrealistically high pricing is not the solution. Price your home to sell in today's Charleston real estate market.