Couldn't agree more. Some houses have been on the market in our area for months with no change in price, so they just sit there.

Can I also say that the wrong way to sell a house is to have no photos of the inside? We checked them out if the price was in our range, but they were usually at the bottom of our list. These weren't trashed foreclosures, either, but had nice interiors, some with new carpet and new paint, even! I didn't get it.

I have been saying this for a while already - it's important to set the price right from the beginning. If the sellers are so ignorant, the agents should show them how buyers use the web sites. If the house is worth 500 and my budget is 500, I might look at the more expensive homes (with a hope to negotiate a lower price), but how far would I go? If I look at 475-525 range, the ones who set the price at 550 but ready to settle at 500 wouldn't even be on the list. Also if I see a decent house for 500, would I start negotiations for a very similar one at 550? Most likely not. It is very important to get in the right range and on the low, not high side.

Many initially overpriced homes end up being sold for even less because most of the buyers never got a chance to see the listing.

I also couldn't agree more with Sarah - post the pictures! Many times the description reads "nice kitchen, recent updates", etc. Well, show them! No one is going to drive there just to find out that the sellers (or the agent) have a very different definition of "nice".

My "pricing story" - when we were looking for a TH last year, we saw one we kind of liked, but it was way overpriced at 385K. It was vacant (sic!).

We've informally offered 345K but it was turned down. Guess what - the same TH is still on the market, now at 365K and the owner must've paid fortune for maintenance for more than a year already. A nicer TH on the same street sold at 365K + 10K closing costs a year ago.

If you believe in markets then you believe it is impossible to substantially under price a house.

Few months ago I took part in a 3 way price discussion on a listing with an agent and a mutual client. They were thinking 109k. I said, 100k is a big line in the sand, why not go for 99k. House received multiple offers within a week and got bid up to $106,500 and sold for ALL CASH. A superior house 1 block away hit the market at the same time for 125k, was then dropped to 119k, then 115k, and finally went under contract for 109k.

Sellers also rarely consider, or under factor carrying costs. Even if your mortgage is small or you even own free and clear, your carrying costs are your debt service+taxes+insurance+LOST INCOME FROM INVESTING YOUR EQUITY ELSEWHERE. Most sellers don't consider the last one.

I like what the HGTV Real Estate Intervention guy says, "You want to set the the market and not follow it in a down real estate market."

Here's an example from my house hunting adventures. There was a two story, 3 BR, 1.5 BA house that initially listed for $350K in north Baltimore near Roland Park. My wife and I had split opinions on the home, but we both felt the home was overpriced.

After about three (3) weeks on the market, I wrote to the agent and said that I thought the home was worth about $320K and gave my reasoning. (At this range we might have been interested.)

Nothing happened.

After eight weeks on the market the price dropped to $340K and then later to $335K.

At 11 weeks I got a call asking if I'd pay $325. By this time, some months after we'd seen the home, my wife had lost interest and didn't want it anymore. So, we never ended up submitting a bid.

Turns out the the house finally sold for $310K.

Had the home been listed for $320K instead of $350 out of the gate, I think it would have sold more quickly and at a higher price.

Right now in the same neighborhood there is a new listing at $455K which I think is overpriced by about $40-55K. Curious to see what the market decides.

In most cases (with a "good" Realtor) there are only 2 reasons a home isn't selling, PRICE and CONDITION. Review the market data with your agent first and understand why the pricing should be at that list price. This market is constantly changing so if you aren't getting showings or real interest on the home then you need to change with it!

The biggest mistake a seller can make is think that time will help find that needle in a haystack. More time means less interest/ showings and lower offers, listen to what the market is telling you (feedback from buyer agents and their clients) and be proactive.

Homes are selling so make sure yours is next!

I bought a house in late 2006 and put my old townhome on the market in early January, 2007. This was right when the real estate bubble was bursting, but I had a fantastic agent who helped me price it correctly. After we moved out, I had the old (really old) carpet replaced, the entire place repainted in off-white, put in a powder room, and fixed a few little things here and there. The house went on the market on a Thursday, had a VERY well attended open house on Sunday, and was under contract Monday night. MAYBE we could have priced it a bit higher and still sold it, but I think it could also have been sitting for a few more weeks. Since I had 4 mortgages on 2 homes at that point, I wanted it sold! It went for $3K over asking price with $2K in closing costs. There were a couple valid, viable offers (plus others which either weren't or came in a week later). Pricing it correctly got the people in for private showings and the open house and I didn't have to carry the costs for very long at all.

If you are trying to sell an empty home, you need to add a couple other items to Josh's equation, utilities and the potential danger in having a home empty and people knowing that it's empty. You could end up without the appliances by the time it's sold!

I also agree with the other commenters - PICTURES, PICTURES, PICTURES! My time to see a house is limited, but I can check out homes online in my pajamas. I'm much, much more inclined to see a home if the pictures online are nice. Finally, CLEAN YOUR HOUSE if you are selling it! Some of the houses we checked out were just a mess! One place had beautiful stained glass windows that you couldn't even see because they had various sports trophies, pictures, and "stuff" on the windowsill and on a shelf in front of them. They had so much junk and so many papers all over the place that I was looking for the hidden cameras. I was sure it was part of an episode for HGTV. We liked the house, but ended up buying two blocks away for the same price because our new house showed well and had been maintained.