Should I relist now or wait?

Homeowners should offer their homes for sale when they are in need of selling and need to make a move. There's no "ideal" time of year or "ideal" economic condition to wait for in order to sell. Homes are listed for sale each and every month of the year. Many times a perfectly good home fails to sell until the marketing strategy is changed. What to say in the advertising, how you say it, what not to say in advertising, how to spread the message about the listing... there is a lot that can be done in the marketing, advertising, and promoting of a property to get it sold in any economy any time of the year. Choose a listing agent who can demonstrate skill in real estate marketing and who has a plan for marketing your property.

I am suggesting relist but I would run a new comp. There are some non-flooded areas where the price have gone up and in very rare cases down. A realtor can spot those and recommend.

Chris
Coldwell Bankers
www.ChrisRealEstatePro.com
832.859.8698

I would be glad to talk to you about re-listing, the current confusion in Washington and the direction things are going, you should get your home sold, while you can still get the most money out of your home.

I agree with most of the previous comments. As realtors we do care, it's in our nature or we couldn't be a ReAltor and deal with the client and their needs effectively.

Why no sale? Not being familiar with your home or neighborhood only allows us to respond in generalizations of the market and your results.

Real estate is local in nature, that's an understatement. It can actually be street by street and house by house. It depends on several factors as to why one would sell and the other not. Sellers don't see their home the same way buyers do. That's where the experienced agent comes in. We have to be nice and complimentary about your home to not insult
And alienate. But we have to be honest and put buyers glasses on.

In regards to feedback: how many provided feedback? Was it filtered by the agent? What were the common denominators? Beautiful and priced right are niceties that tell you it's nice "but I ain't biten!"

Relist now? It completely depends on your personal situation. Not being familiar with it I assume from what you said you don't have to sell, you don't have a new home under contract so you have the luxury to wait. That may be advisable. The market here today is one of uncertainty. There is not a glut of homes on the market now, there is also no increased demand "today" from the storm. Those who flooded need to settle with insurance and sort a lot of things out before they are able to seek a new home. We simply don't know what the impact of the storm will have on our market other than we know it will affect it as our city is hurting and will be healing for months to come.

Agents: I've been doing this a long time so my opinion on experience is clear and not always popular: hire an agent who has been doing this at least since 2010. Why? Because our market is at a tipping point. New agents have not seen or been through market shifts. However if they have a good mentor that will help tremendously. Best of luck.

This decision should be made between you and your client. In my humble opinion, it is the REALTOR's job/mission to market properties. External conditions only dictate the marketing strategy. Today's environment, after Hurricane Harvey, may call for a more compassionate approach to marketing. This may not be the time for a hard-sell.

Likewise, when speaking with Prospects it is crucial to keep in mind everyone may have a Harvey related story.

To this end, vigorously represent your client and market their property via an MLS listing; however, just know you may want to adopt a more compassionate marketing strategy post-Harvey.

Go get'em.

Price, Location and Condition are the three basic basics regarding the selling of your home. It sounds like you have checked all those boxes and have addressed properlty.
I agree with the other agents go ahead and relist!
Bethany Laub
Heritage Texas Properties
Assoicate Broker

That is the million dollar question! Well there are a lot of factors; where do you plan to buy when you sell? Is this your primary residence? Reason to move? What area is your home in? Sounds like your flexible on selling now or later. My current listings that were not affected by Harvey have had increased showings. Recieved an offer on one that we are currently negotiating and expecting an offer on a different listing. It could be a great time to sell!

As for an agent. First, Ask for references. Second, call the references. Three, ask them what they are going to different than the first agent you listed with. Take a look at their marketing plan. Ask them for their sales record. See if they cover any bonuses, like sellers and buyers home warranty coverage (this can be a big tool in keeping negotiations to a minimum after inspections) I hope this helped!! Good luck to you :)

Re-list now with a successful and experienced agent you feel comfortable and confident with and that provides you with answers to questions you might not have even thought of asking who will follow a marketing plan including a listing price that results in lots of showings and offer/s.

I think it is to your advantage to relist. Consider the fact that you didn't flood will be favorably noted by my most potential buyers....but that is a fleeting advantage with a short time window. When the homes that did flood all around Houston are restored ... any of those going onto the market with be newly refurbished ... new counter-tops, cabinets, new floors, new appliances, new A/C system, etc. and you will then be competing against them.

I'd recommend interviewing at least 2 other realtors who were not your original listing agent and listen very carefully to #1 their analysis of why a beautiful home priced right did not sell and # 2 what will they do differently ... what sort of marketing do they have? My real estate clients use my interactive floor plans to give them an edge in the marketplace; room photos launch out of the floor plan and it expands the pool of buyers dramatically because buyers can clearly "see" the home and ALL Its features and attributes before they actually see it in person. This is a method that works well...but its not the only marketing tool out there... investigate the tools realtors are presenting to you and listen to how they assess the success of selling your property now. "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten". Judith

I totally agree with Mark on many levels. It seems as if he read my mind. In addition I would like to add a few points.
Consumers generally buy on emotions. As a whole our country has been and still is on a emotional roller coaster. From The changing of the guard (Presidents), to oil industry resulting in over 350,000 jobs lost. Our second largest employer in Houston, Md Anderson laid off about 1000 and projected income loss for fiscal year 2017 to hit 450 million. Uncertainty of was with Korea, the devastation that hurricane Harvey did, to the State as a whole and now other parts of the country being hit with tornadoes still, emotions, emotions, emotions. As Mark stated it is going to take several months at least for consumers to start breathing. Flood waters and reservoirs are still being drained. As we have recently heard from many in the news areas that had never flooded in 30 or 40 years flooded. So even if a area or home did not flood, right now the fear and uncertainty is in the minds of buyers. To further complicate the situation is the pending uncertainty about the National Flood Insurance program that is scheduled to expire at the end of September. if this happens it will cause some home owners, and consumers to not be protected and others may not be able to obtain a mortgage.
If you sell right now chances are you will not get the asking price that you want for many of the reasons stated alone. Market trends, location and timing has a lot to do with when properties will sell and how long they remain on the market as well as pricing. Example, homes in the FHA, USDA will not stay on the market as long as a luxury home or custom home. The property not selling and on the market for over 90 days does not necessarily mean the realtor did not do his or her job. As Mark stated location and pricing may have played a part. On the other hand, choosing the right realtor with knowledge, skills, and experience is key. a few sites to review. good luck

A lot will have to do with your location and price range. Some areas of town have been slow for Sellers as there is an oversupply of homes in certain price ranges. I assume since you have not gotten an offer despite positive feedback that this might be the case. And I also assume many of the homes around you did not flood. So no change in inventory of homes for sale. If you listed 90 days ago, you started around June 1st. A bit late in the season for Sellers. You were likely a bit over priced as well.

If you don't have to move, you might want to wait till March 1st of next year which is typically when the markets start to get busy. There will be a minimum of 3 to 5 months of "flood" issues we have to deal with now. Houston will have a huge hangover from Harvey. It will take some time to get back to any type of normal real estate market. You can always cut your price to try and spur a sale hoping your home not flooding will have extra incentive, but not sure if you can do that.

When interviewing Realtors, make sure they can prove they are "active" and not doing this part time. Plenty of sales, a marketing plan, how they provide updates, reviews from the past clients and the ability to bring comparable sales and advise why some price ranges are selling better than others are items they need to show you. They don't have to have an office near by. They don't have to have a sign on every corner. But they need to be experienced and not afraid to tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. This way, you know what to expect.

I know it is frustrating your home has not sold. Sometimes a 2nd opinion is not a bad thing. Speak with Realtors THIS FALL so you can prepare for early 2018. Give us a call if we can help. Good luck!

Mark McNitt
832-567-4357
www.MarkKnowsHouston.com
Bernstein Realty

Hello,not having your house active will surely not sell it. Har.com has recently added a button that allows platinum Realtor to add the option Flooded in Hurricane Harvey "yes" or "no" this allows all of the buyers that are looking to only select homes that where not effected. Also, something to think about is that a LOT of the buyers that where under contract or actively searching for homes, sadly those homes are no more or severely damaged and the buyers backed out or are looking else where. That could be your home that they are looking at.

Regarding your home directly I would ask myself is your house priced the same as those in the master planned and HOA regulated neighborhood's surrounding your home. From a buyers standpoint, why would they go with your pretty house when they can get much more in another pretty house. All of the following things matter big time to many buyers Good shools, community pools, tennis courts, playgorunds, security patrol, club houses, gym, golf courses, HOA regulation's of what you can and can not do (This is a plus to some because it helps keep functionality, structure, and rules in their area. No, cars on lawns and trash in yards, ect.)

This brings me to things to ask your Realtor. I would have her/him do an analysis of what the price differential would be for a house that is not regulated by an HOA. If you and your old Realtor are still in communication I would ask her/him for copies of the feedback from buyers and agents who visited your home. Ask them how they market your home and how many and which websites will your home be marketed to. Knowledge and experience is key. Everytime an agent sales a property buying, selling, or lease HAR.com sends the buyer or seller or tenant a survey to see if they where satisfied with the service their Realtor provided. This gives you a birdseye view of past clients issues or victories with the Realtor. They don't need 20 reviews, just enoughave for you to feel confident.

Hello,

Depending on your situation you have a number of options, and some items to think about:

First - If this is your primary residence and you need to sell, the local MLS system added a new field to denote homes that flooded and homes that did not. This will help if the goal is to sell right away. As for the question on the days on market. Most agents will see past the day on market when working with their buyers because they can see the cumulative days within the MLS system. Some agents like to play games adding listings for short periods and then redo them so the casual looker will see a short days on market and think they are getting in at the beginning. It is the total days on market of the property buyers agents should be looking at. This is what a good agent will look at when advocating for their buyer at negotiations.

Second - If this is not your primary residence and you can afford to rent it out for short periods, this may be to your advantage. There are countless families now looking for rentals between a few weeks up to 12 weeks. HAR now has a section where properties can be listed to rent for short periods. If this is an option for you, you can make some money while you wait for the market to smooth out and give time for buyers to start looking again. Families are also looking to Zillow for this option.

If your contract has terminated and you are looking to interview a new agent, I would love to interview for the job.

Michael Jobin, SRES
C&K Properties
713.545.2314
MJobin@Jobee.com