Often times homeowners fall into a common rut while trying to sell their homes — they overlook market trends, which can sabotage results. Two closings this past week illustrate what not to do.
A property in the hamlet of Shinnecock Hills, 14 Charla Dr, closed Feb. 14. This 1,760-square-foot ranch with three bedrooms and one bath on .60 acre with room for a pool was listed on the market for 889 days.
First listed Sept. 10, 2008 on StreetEasy.com for $775,000, the price was reduced six times by increments of 10 percent, 3 percent, 4 percent, 4 percent, 5 percent and then 12 percent on September 22, 2010 to $525,000. After the final price reduction, the property sold in about four and a half months at $492,500 — 94 percent of the latest listing price.
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A North Sea hamlet property, 20 Widener Ln, closed Feb. 15. This 1817-square-foot three-bedroom, three-bath ranch on .57 acre with a vinyl pool was listed on the market on StreetEasy for 1,248 days. On Feb. 12, 2008 it appeared on HREO.com for $895,000. With numerous price reductions in between, and a reduction Nov. 29, 2010 to $585,000, the property sold two and a half months later at $549,500 — 94 percent of the final asking price.
Although ultimately successful in selling their homes, the owners of both properties were sucked into a classic economic phenomenon called "chasing the market." Their decisions of where to price their homes was unfortunately not based on viewing trends and anticipating the future.
We see many homes on the market today that are languishing unsold. They were priced too high to begin with, and then the recession hit. It is common for an owner, rather than repositioning his property to be of value in the declining market, to chose a nominal price reduction, and then another, and another, as the market continues to fall ahead of where the house is priced.
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Suffolk Research Services, based in Hampton Bays, tracked 83 single-family residence sales in Southampton Village and 143 single-family residence sales in the combined hamlets of Shinnecock Hills, Tuckahoe and North Sea during the past year. Their statistics show that we are in a declining real estate market. In the village of Southampton the median sale price was down 4.45 percent from 2009. In the outlying hamlets the median price was down 11.95 percent.
To generate genuine interest and sell a property for the highest price in the shortest amount of time, a seller needs to be ahead of the curve in today’s real estate market and list at a price that takes into account this declining market trend.
With the advent of the internet, a savvy buyer has the tools available to recognize value and accordingly make a realistic offer. For recent local sales, our website www.southamptonre.com is a great resource.
