Are Optical Illusions Costing You Money?

What do you see in the image above?  A beautiful antique vase?  The profiles of two mature women facing each other?  Could be either one or the other...

It's all about perception!

Home sellers and real estate professionals have to understanding the concept of "buyer's perception."
As a seller, yes, you may have paid $250,000 for your home during the dreaded 2004 and yes, you may have refinanced, taking out $50,000 in PERCEIVED equity in 2006 to make improvements (that's another post in the making). But if your home is now on the market for $355,000, there is really no guarantee that you'll sell for that price. In fact, it's likely you won't get near that today.

Buyers today know properties are still trending downward; they know the longer a house sits on the market, the more room there will be for negotiation: translation--lower asking price. There are some listing agents that believe if there are no showings in 30 days, start dropping the price.  If there are no offers in 30 days, start dropping the price.

Some homes are actually worth the listed price, or at least really close to it.  The problem is they don't SHOW well so buyers PERCEIVE them as not being worth the asking price. Perception is everything and once a buyer perceives a house as not being worth the listed price, you've pretty much lost them.

I've seen homes that are spectacular, but with horrific decor.  Buyers are not looking for a house full of projects and the more projects they find in a home, the less valuable a home is to them.  Most are looking for move-in ready, turnkey properties.

I think as real estate professionals, it's our duty to get every penny we can for a property, especially if a seller is upside down.  Which is where staging or enhancing comes into play.

It not only will help build a lasting rapport with sellers (and hopefully referrals), but it helps our bottom line!