Pricing Question

I've sold by owner 3x now. Here's how I do it: call a couple realtors and ask if they'll do a free appraisal. They all do. I've had Brown Harris Stevens and Corcoran and Elliman all look at mine (the majors where I am), and they all gave me thoughtful prices based on recents comps. It actually required 10-15 minutes worth of work and in no case did they ever call me back and ask for the listing (I was upfront that I was going to try on my own).

Anyway, then you get a range of, say, 645-695 from them. I went with the lowest price they gave me but didn't discount it further. Both times got my price or higher.

Make sure you do a lot of advertising. Spend a little money. People don't and then it sits and then they're stuck.

Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 3:49 PM

Someone is not low-balling you if they offer less because the economy is weak. Did you get your appraisal when money was cheap to borrow, prices were inflated, and the area was still expected to improve in price with AY going in? All of that's changed now and therefore the place is worth less net of improvements.

That said, 619k doesn't sound like a bad start price if it's a well-renovated 2br/2b, over 1,000 sq ft on a good PH block. Do you need to sell now or could you wait for the shifting economy to steady out?

Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 4:09 PM

I know a of a nice 2br/1b on great park slope block that went FSBO this winter and couldn't get 600k. You'll have to judge for yourself if a second bath can balance the neighborhood difference.

Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 5:19 PM

Is it beyond Vanderbilt? Underhill? Maybe too high that far over.

Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 5:43 PM

We sold our apartment in Park /slope FSBO. What worked for us was to find out the comps ourselves. Easy enough to do. In a hot market we priced low. It created buzz and got us 80,000 over ask. In this market that might not work.

Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 9:27 PM

I think 9:27 is right that the ask low and expect multiple bids may not work as well in this market. A lot of it really depends on how quickly you need to sell.

You should be able to pull up a list of all sales in the last year via Property Shark. Just make sure to disclose exactly to potential buyers your sources for any information you give them (like comps, etc.). The hard part without a broker will be to determine what units had 2 baths, etc.

Posted by: guest at March 28, 2008 10:14 AM

That sounds low to me for so large a place, unless it is very far over into Prospect Heights, or parlty in a basement.

Posted by: guest at March 28, 2008 11:16 AM

I think going to a broker is right (for price). I've done that and never had anyone bother me. Brokers now what things are going for now, this month, not 3-4 months ago.

Posted by: guest at March 28, 2008 11:17 AM

$484/sq foot sounds very low for PH, unless its in awful condition or actually in Crown Heights. What's the cross street?

Posted by: guest at March 28, 2008 2:41 PM

You say 619 is your bottom line. So would you pull the listing if you didn't get it? I suspect that in this market, at this time, you'll get most bids below ask.

I could be wrong about this, but if 629 or 639 isn't out of line with recent comps., you should ask that with the idea of getting 619 or so. That way you've got some bargaining room without so much anxiety. I'd bet that a 619 listing would get a number of sub-600k offers, which is what you don't want.

Posted by: guest at March 29, 2008 9:32 AM