Selling a Home In Las Vegas: Why Buyer Feedback is So Important
For those with a fragile ego, the selling process can sometimes be a tough road. If you’re messy, we may have to let you know. Painting over those Fuchsia walls in the living room was also no easy task. Removing the Bellagio inspired water fountain from the front yard, also brought tears to your eyes. I understand, I really do. But the good news is that your home is now on the market!
Along with the showings, comes the feedback from potential buyers. For sensitive sellers, this too can be a downright traumatic experience. Nobody wants to hear bad things about their home. There is an emotional component to where you live, raised your kids, and have years of memories. Now somebody is going to waltz through and pick it all apart? It’s important to not take feedback personally. Remember that everyone has their own tastes. Input is actually a valuable and important part of the process.
Feedback is a tool the sellers and their Realtor can use, to tweak their marketing and get the home sold. This is a good thing for those who can detach themselves emotionally and listen.
Your ultimate goal as a seller is to do one thing: Sell your home.
Right? (Nod your head, yes.)
In a sense, showing feedback is the market speaking directly to you. Those who listen, and adjust accordingly almost always sell their home.
As a listing agent, I’ve found it’s important to ask specific questions after the showing. You want to avoid vague answers. Ask the buyers what they thought the best and worst features of the home were. Ask them about the price. Ask them about the neighborhood. If the home is getting showings, but not any offers, you’ll then get a clear idea of why.
Over the years I’ve had plenty of buyer agents tell me their clients loved the house, but not the neighborhood. Obviously there is nothing you can do about this. Those homes all eventually sold to those who loved the house and also the neighborhood.
Price too is always important. I’ve written extensively on this blog about the importance of pricing a home correctly from the start. If the showing feedback says your home is too expensive compared to others, then it probably is. Those potential buyers are going to be working with an agent, who is familiar with Las Vegas, and who undoubtedly will be providing them the same data. I’ve seen homes overpriced by only 3-5% that received no offers.
Years ago I took a custom built home as a listing. This was in a very small enclave of homes and after the housing crash, prices were all over the map. During our listing appointment, I showed him three of the best comparable properties I could find. They all had two things in common: They all were priced under 500 thousand and they all sold. The other homes I presented him were all listed over 500 and either expired or were still on the market. He was not interested in hearing what I had to say (in fact he threw the comps back across the table at me) and was not interested in getting the home appraised.
I took the listing and the feedback was great, except for one thing: Price. In fact, the feedback was almost identical for the multiple showings we had “Love the home, loved the area, price is too high.” After six months he never received an offer. I forwarded the feedback or called after every showing, but he refused to lower the price. When we listed again, I told him I would only take the listing for 3 months and at 499. He finally agreed and guess what? The house went under contract two weeks later and closed escrow 6 weeks after that! Feedback, as it turned out, was right all along.
It’s also good to ask how the home compares to others they have seen. For instance, if the other homes on the market all have new appliances, or new flooring, the seller may want to consider updating these things as well to remain competitive.
Asking what someone liked least about the home is also important. Again, tastes are subjective, but if you find that the majority of showings did not like the bathroom wall paper, then you may want to replace it. If the potential buyer didn’t like the blue carpet, or the dog smell, you should probably take note of that and adjust accordingly.
Feedback is a great way to gauge your standing in the Las Vegas real estate market. As a seller you should be looking forward to unbiased feedback, not shy away from it. Not everyone is going to like your home, but if you see a pattern developing, work quickly with your agent to address it. Realtors too should utilize this more often; return calls and emails, so we can work collectively to do what we’re hired to do: Sell homes for our clients.