Misconceptions that Sellers commonly have, that will ensure their home will not sell in average days on market or average list price vs sold price.  Listing a house too high at the start results in a lower than could have been sales price most often!

If you find yourself thinking thoughts such as these, beware!

We have this refinance appraisal that shows our house to be valued at $675,000 a year ago.  I know the market has not gone down since then.  We’ll want to list it for at least the appraised value. (Refinance appraisals are most often much higher than “market value”.  There are all kinds of appraisals: Estate, Divorce, Refinance, New Loan, Home Equity…  What counts is a true “Market Evaluation” for a sale within 90 days.)

We “don’t have to sell”, so we are not going to give our house away.  (The fact that you don’t have to sell does not inflate the value of your home one penny.  Now if you “have to sell” quickly, that could decrease the value of your home!)

The carpeting is warn and outdated but we will leave it as is and the buyer can then get what they want.  OR  Sure our carpeting lime green color but it is in perfect condition so why should we replace it?  OR, We love our house and the way we have decorated it so why should we strip the wall paper? (Buyers are more demanding each year it seems.  Houses must be as clean and neutral as possible and priced right to garner respectable offers.  Homes that don’t meet this criteria may not get an offer or if they do, disappointingly low offers)

Buyers always try to cut down the price so we understand market value is less than we are asking.

(Not the case.  A buyer will pay full price or even more IF they feel that compared to others the house is more than reasonably priced.  Pricing the house higher for a cushion is a common mistake that leads to common disappointment.  It would be better to price it correctly at the start and turn down the first offer that doesn’t pay full price than to overprice and never get a viable offer)

We have seen what new houses cost so we want to get at least this for ours.  (The next house you would like to buy has absolutely no relation to the value of your home and visa versa.  If the new home you have your eye on raised their price by $10,000 overnight does that mean your house just appreciated by $10,000?  Answer is “No”)

The road noise has never bothered us.  (perhaps not, but the homes affected by road traffic noise have been and will be valued less than the same house without road noise)

Our house is bigger than most around here so we should get more for it. (Bigger does not always mean better or more valuable)  Having the biggest house in the area violates the basic rule of Real Estate:  Buy the least expensive house - to the average house, in the most expensive area you can, and your return will be the best).

You could not build a house today like this for close to that price, our house is worth more. (Correct, these days the market value of an existing house is less than the reconstruction cost.  And it may be worth more to the owner but seldom is that perspective the same for a buyer in the marketplace)

Yes, we are getting people in but no offers.  Sure we will take less, all the buyers have to do is make us an offer.  (No offers made, with people  coming in to see it says:  it is overpriced compared to others out there, (if sales are taking place in the area).  You must have violated one or more of the rules above when placing the price on the house)

            15 showings and no offers suggests that you should take immediate action and reduce the asking price enough to compensate AND/OR make the house better by removing the objections.  (There are some exceptions to this rule)

 We have already dropped our price $30,000 when we reduced it 3 months ago.  Now this buyer wants us to reduce it another $33,000!  I’m not interested in giving our house away!  Any reduction in list price simply states that the owners have finally come to the realization that the original price is more than the buying public will pay.  The fact that a house has undergone a price reduction does not impact its "true market value" (perception of buyer can come into play here however).  This seller did not “give” any money away when the reduction in price took place because the value was obviously not there in the first place.  “True market value”  is what the seller is willing to take and the price a buyer is willing to pay, that are equal i.e. the same number.

                                                                                       Don't do these things!