Quarter 4 2022
This last quarter presented many challenges for sellers. From October to December, there was a dramatic decline in buyer activity. Homes for sale continued to rise as previous listings continued to sit on the market. As agents, we certainly felt the pressure to perform for our selling clients. Personally, Chris and I had two listings during this time. We had an older remodeled home in Meridian at the once very desirable price of $399,000, in past years it shouldn't have lasted more than a few hours on the market. We also had a nearly brand new home in North Nampa. A beautiful home by Brighton, in a sought after neighborhood with schools and pools, listed at the median price point of $525,000. It, too, should not have lasted long on our market pre May 2022.
We knew going in, we were in for an uphill battle. Our last listing in July, also at a very median price point, and in excellent condition, had zero traffic. We did open house after open house, for maybe five groups total over the couple of months it took to sell. Take that and add the holidays, and well, I don't have to tell you how it went. We sat on the market for quite a while with both. But we were committed, we were going to find that buyer. We just need that ONE person. So we hosted open house after open house taking the trickle of buyers like champs. Every person was an opportunity. But I also believe that scheduling the open house has its benefits all on its own. When the number of homes on the market is increasing, and your pricing is in the majority, it's hard not to get lost in the sea of availability. Just the act of scheduling the open house brings it to the surface for more eyes to see it.
While we did do a couple price drops on each home, the traffic was pretty much the same. It's as if people decided, if prices and interest rates are not favorable, then they were not even going to temp themselves with looking at all. Meaning they would miss the new prices all together. The hope was that by reducing the price we would tap a whole new "price bracket of Buyers" (as I like to call it). People shop in increments of price, if you want fresh eyes to see your home, your price reduction has to drop into that new bracket to do so. This, combined with timing, is what finally got us under contract.
First our Meridian listing received an offer and we accepted. Then finally this month, our Nampa listing received not one, but two offers on the same day. Isn't that just how the real estate universe works? We had to be a bit more creative with our Nampa listing. It had an unexpected challenge. Resale homes are not the only homes that are reducing their price, new construction is as well. While having a nearly brand new, two year old home to sell seems great, it can be challenging when the builder is still building that floorplan. That is a challenge we expected, what we didn't expect is the price race that we would have in the subdivision. We decided to price aggressively under the builder price. In just a couple weeks, the builder reduced the price to the same price as ours. We thought nothing of it and considered it a coincidence, and reduced our price again to below the builder's price. Then, again, the builder reduced their price to the same as ours, and then again a third time. At this point we knew it was not a coincidence. Our home was being used as a free "Model Home" for the builder. It was very frustrating to witness. We were going to have to do something different.
We brainstormed with fellow colleagues and came up with a plan. We refreshed the first photo, updated the description and then did what we knew the builder wouldn't follow. The floor plan has three bedrooms, a bonus room, and an office... with a closet downstairs. We changed it from a three bedroom to a four bedroom. A few days later, we got our offers. We are now on pins and needles, counting the days to closing day.
This market is a very challenging one, but with the right expertise your goal of buying or selling a home is achievable. House Of Palmer Real Estate is here to guide you, no matter the market.
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