Can you tell me why we can't sell our home for $$$????

Yes I will be happy to tell you why your home is not selling, and why the price you have in your head that you feel your home is worth is not realistic....BUT SELLERS DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THIS!

It doesn't matter if it is Builders or Residential Sellers...the fact is that they are still not understanding that the economic downturn has hit their homes as well as their bottom line. Especially buyers that purchased homes during the HOUSING BOOM and now are in the situation of trying to swallow that they will NEVER SELL THEIR HOME FOR WHAT THEY PAID FOR IT.

The market is a system of BLACK AND WHITE and now RED! We have MAD sellers with RED bottom lines and they are not willing to face this truth...

So as a Realtor it is my job to do accurate market research and inform them of what their homes are worth. There is NO SUGAR COATING this fact...the market is what it is and your home will not sell for the pie in the sky number in your head.
We sit down with our sellers and explain what their home is worth and the most likely sales price and you can literally see their heads spin.
I try and inform them up front that if they don't HAVE to sell right now it may be the best idea for them to refinance to take advantage of the historically low interest rates and save some money. Do those repairs they have been holding off on, make their home more energy efficient to take advantage of the tax incentives of doing so...etc. If they HAVE to sell then I tell them to realistically look at the data and lets do the numbers so they know where they will be at closing if we list at this price...that is when it hits them of where they actually are and many are upside down on their homes.
It is not a fun thing to be a listing agent right now. Your sellers are likely not going to be HAPPY or JUMPING FOR JOY...but the up side is they are getting great deals on their next home even if it is out of state. So the money they lost on one can be recovered somewhat in the next.
Also, I like to remind them that selling your home now is similar to the therory of selling stocks...."You don't loose money unless you sell low" and that is where deciding if they want to wait and see if a partial recovery comes before selling could be benificial to them.
Listing homes at prices above where the market tells us it needs to be...well it is futal. Some agents are so hungry for listings that they will take whatever you want to list for and move on. Your home will sit and stale on the market and not sell, you may get showings but no offers will come in. Eventually the sellers will get upset that it hasn't sold and then drop you as their agent and move on to yet another REALTOR that tells them the same thing you need to list for THIS and likely they will reduce it some but by how much will be up to the seller....if they have been magically waken up from their fairy tale dream from the days when homes sold for much more, anyone could get a loan and Sellers made mega bucks on their homes....

BOTTOM LINE- Listen to your realtor when pricing your home...don't waste valuable time on the market with a home that is overpriced. You are only helping to sell the homes in your area that are properly priced NOT selling yours.
Be realistic and really understand that if you don't have to sell right now DON'T.
Its a SUPER time to refinance and a Good Realtor will assist you in finding a mortgage broker or mortgage company that can assist you with that.
It's also good to get all repairs done on your home and spruce up the exterior and interior BEFORE you list...your home is being interviewed for owners...put your best foot forward and don't neglect to make a GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION.