This past weekend a couple walked into a home I was holding open, and we recognized each other immediately. We had met about a year and a half ago when I met with them to discuss listing their home. I strongly urged them to stage their home for maximum impact and sales price. That included storing or selling at least half of the furnishings in their large but crowded home so the lovely architecture would show best. They had many family heirlooms, and most of that was dark and heavy furniture. And too much of it.
My second suggestion, only slightly less popular, was to price the home at around $895,000 or less. They were adament they wanted at least a million dollars because that is what they "needed to get out of the home." Never mind that nothing in their community had ever sold for that much money and the house was a bit dated. $895,000 was conservative and realistic.
I never heard back from them and noticed some time later the house was on the market listed by another broker at -- you guessed it -- over a million dollars!
This past weekend when we met, they reported that they had indeed sold their home and bought a smaller one near the one I was holding open, and I congratulated them on their successful downsizing. Later I checked on the pricing. Their home did sell, was on the market for over 400 days, started at their million dollar plus mark and eventually sold for $800,000. If they had started at a realistic price they probably would have gotten close to that number and made an extra $50,000. At least!
Oh, and by the way, they must have kept -- and moved -- all of that heavy furniture because they remarked that the house was full as was the garage! Downsizing? Time to clear out the old and make way for the NEW!