Most sellers already have an idea of how much they want for their home before they ever talk to a realtor.
They base that number on what a neighboring house sold for in combination with whatever funds they put into renovating or up-keeping the property over the years.
Most agents recommend listing on the low side -- usually lower than the number the seller has in mind, which often leads to spirited push and pull between realtor and homeowner.
The thinking on the realtor side is that if we list low, it gives potential buyers room to outbid each other.
I personally instruct my buyers looking in certain markets to aim for properties listed 200-300k below their max so that they have wiggle room to overbid and to counter...
In the mid-Peninsula, many homes receive an offer -- or offers -- in the first week after launching. If that offer or offers don't line up with the sellers' expectations, instead of saying to themselves -- well, the market isn't aligned with the price I wanted-- the seller will opt to wait for a better one.
Now, take a sec to look at the graph posted below. Really study it. It delineates the relationship between days on market and percent over list price in one Peninsula town, San Carlos.
As you can see, the chances of a property selling for over list price decreases the longer the home is on the market.
In fact, your best bet for over list price is in those first 14 days on the market....
I can tell you that every buyer I've ever worked with has assumed if a home is still available after 20 days that either there is something wrong with it or the seller must be "motivated" by now. (Motivated is real-estate slang for desperate.)
In other words, here's my message to sellers everywhere: waiting will most likely not bring you a higher offer than the ones you first receive.
