These days I am coming across a lot of sellers who tell me "I am not in a rush to sell". This comes up during discussions about pricing the home. Sellers adopt this attitude thinking that if they stay on the market long enough someone will eventually pay their price. Well this works in a Seller's market or in a market where the prices are rising. In today's market where the prices are dropping and Buyers have a lot of choice this is the wrong approach to marketing your home. Presently in Durham region there is a record number of homes for sale for every buyer looking. When there is so much choice both Realtors and buyers are looking to cherry pick. If your house does not show great value for money when compared to similar homes on the market people do not bother and go to the next one. This is very evident when we get a lot of hits on the web page for that listing (Virtual showing) but no actual showing. The buyers these days do a lot of the leg work on the Internet before they get out to see homes. They can see multiple photos, virtual tour and Aerial photos of the house. They can check the distance to the local shopping and schools and determine how long it takes them to get to work from the comfort of their armchair.

When you list a home for more than the market value you actually help sell other homes rather than yours. Unless you wish to help your neighbours sell their home I strongly advise that you decide if you are serious about selling and if the answer is NO, then stay off the market until the market changes to a sellers market. All the predictions indicate that the housing market in Durham should turn around in a couple of years time. It will obviously take a few more years before we get back to the record prices that sellers enjoyed in 2007.

-- Masood Vatandoust