This is a rewrite of an earlier blog I posted in an earlier sales cycle. I am of the opinion that now is not the time for Chicago Sellers to be "testing" the market. Hovering above correct pricing hoping to "see what happens" only makes for agonizing market time, frustration and interesting fodder for less optimistic writings than this. (Nakedrepublic.com for one) To be sure, there are still hundreds of transactions a week occuring in Chicago.
When an overpriced property goes New on the market three things are immediately set into motion. The first one is Market Time. The clock starts ticking on the first day and continues until Expiration, Cancellation or Closing.
The second thing is the New property is placed in a category of similar priced properties--many of which are correctly priced and thus--superior in the eyes of the Buyer. Its not unusual for even a correctly priced property to stay on the market for upwards of thirty days.
But probably the most important thing that occurs is the loss of the real potential Buyer. The overpriced property is "off his radar" and this results in it not even being seen. By the time the inevitable Price Reduction occurs, the potential Buyer has already purchased. And it may not just be one or two lost Buyers.
An experienced Realtor will strongly advise against being too aggresive in a static market as far as price is concerned. The time of just taking the listing to test the market is in the past, or at the very least, not in the present. There are still many points to negotiate in a contract such as tax prorations, closing cost credits and total earnest money held in escrow. What may seem like a concession in price in the beginning may actually net a higher bottom line at closing when the monthly carrying costs associated with a lengthy market time are reduced.
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