My coach corrected me other day when I told him that we were asking some silly asking prices on some of the properties around Hilton Head and Daufuskie Island.  He told me to take “silly” out of my presentation and replace it with “fair market value”  I had been protecting myself and my sellers from reality by using the word “silly”.  Made me think about all the sellers that had told me that they will “wait it out” because they were not going to “give” their property away.  

How long are you willing to wait to get your price?

Although no one has a crystal ball, some sellers have already moved to fair market value while others are trying to wait this out.  I should mention that when I started my real estate career in 1986, tax reform had the effect of increasing inventory and reducing the number of buyers.   Just like now, some sellers wanted to wait for their price rather than move to fair market value and it took them almost 10 years to get it.  I am not sure they knew this when they made this decision.

Why won’t buyers make a bid if the price is over fair market?

Used to be that if we priced our properties a bit high we would get an offer.  Today with an “overstocked” market we now have to be within 3-5% of what the property is expected to sell for before we even get an offer to work with. This is because buyers can now go “window shopping” with their computers and do not have to physically visit a property to determine value.  This takes out the bidding process almost altogether.  If the buyer does not see value when they are “window shopping” on their computers they don’t ever step foot in the property, hence no bidders on overpriced properties.   Remember, it is impossible to sell a $100 pizza!

Why would a seller adjust when they are the lowest price already?

If the price a seller is asking is not good enough to get an offer, than the asking price is still higher than fair market value.  There are some sellers celebrating birthdays on their listing date because they are hovering at the last sold price that some seller set years ago.  In order to sell, a seller has to get in front of the market and make the offering compelling.  Buyers are ready and waiting to pay fair market value, but will not react to overpricing.  The advantage for the first seller that makes the move to fair market value is that they stand to save both time and money.

Want an honest value of your Hilton Head Property?

If you are listed call your Realtor, if you are just exploring the current value, email us at info@HiltonHeadProperties.biz  or call us anytime at (843)785-7111.  We would be happy to provide a snapshot of your current market value via email.  Thank You.