Don’t Get Lulled into Rabbit Hole Real Estate
You’ve just tumbled down a long, winding rabbit hole. You land in a place full of brightly-glowing flowers and whimsical characters who say strange things. There in a shady corner is your L.A. home. And dozens of buyers are converging on the property, offering exactly what you think the property is worth.
This, my friends, is what must happen if you intend to sell your L.A. home for the price tag YOU want. Because in the real world, you don’t set the value of your property – the market does. Plain and simple.
For some strange reason, certain people believe we agents just wave a magic wand, and POOF! – a home sells for the grand sum envisioned by the seller. Uh-uh, nope. While it’s true realtors have been known to nudge a little something extra at the negotiation table, the final sum won’t be dramatically different from the going rate. Ultimately, it’s the house not the realtor that sells the house.
So get used to it, sellers. Home prices all revolve around the economic rules of supply and demand, just like AT&T stock. Like it or not, the market is the master.
Despite this fact of real estate life, however, many is the time I encounter people who prefer to roam around in Wonderland. Just recently, I represented a seller who couldn’t understand why his property was stalled in the marketplace while everything else within walking distance was flying off the shelf. “Uh, well, it’s like this,” explained both me and the buyer’s agent. “All the others are listed at $700,000. Yours is going for 900k….Notice any difference?”
So the choice is yours. Price your L.A. home in line with the marketplace. Or buy a round-trip ticket to Wonderland. Because that’s the only place where emotion pricing works.
If you have anything to say about this, be sure to chime in. That’s what comment boxes are for. And, of course, if you have any questions, send them my way.
Terre Steinbeck
(310) 666-4094 DIRECT
(310) 724-7100 OFFICE
Terre Steinbeck Beverly Hills real estate 