“Meridian Neighbor” asked me a question in the comments section of my Hunter Pointe post last night

Bill,
I am a home owner in Heritage Commons. I am curious about movement since the first of the year. We have had our home listed since Thanksgiving and feel our price is fair, if not low. We are at the point where we are considering either pulling the sign or dumping the price. Is there anything that helps these days?

So this morning I have spent a little time digging into the MLS data to see what I can find out, and this is some of what I’ve learned.   By way of introduction, for those of you who aren’t Realtors and might not be familiar with the Heritage Commons community, it is a relatively new subdivision west of Locust Grove and north of Ustick.  It is built around a large common area, and features primarily two-story homes and some single levels, built by some great great builders, Brighton, Tahoe, Canyon Crest, and Schaffner.  Prices range in the mid $200’s to the low $400’s. 

First of all, movement since the beginning of the year… in Heritage Commons there have been 14 two-story homes sold since the first of the year.  None in January, 4 in February, 2 in March, 5 in April, 2 in May, and 1 so far in June.  Ten of those homes sold at $300,000 or less, and all but one were $318,000 or less.  Of the eight since April, the range in actual sold prices was $240,000 to $347,400, with an average $286,030.  Average square foot price for a roughly 2500 sq ft home in Heritage Commons the last couple months has been $122 (in February it was $125).

Meridian Neighbor mentioned they first went on market in November, so what was the market like then?  Has it changed much?  Well, I see 10 two-story homes sold in Heritage Commons between September 1st and December 31st of 2006.  Interestingly enough, all 10 sold at or below that $318,000 figure.  So that tells me how actual buyers are spending their money in Heritage Commons, and suggests that folks willing to go higher are finding their homes in another sub.

So, let’s consider competition.  These same builders are also in other subs close by, but let’s just look at Saguaro Canyon for a look at what competition means.   That same period in Fall of 2006 saw 26 homes sold in Saguaro Canyon, ranging in price between $285,000 and $505,000.  In the size and model range available in Heritage Commons, for example, a Tahoe Delano model (this is being built in both subs), was selling new in Saguaro in the $331,000 price range.  And since January of this year, 28 more homes have sold, with the homes comparable to the Delano selling between $308,000 and $332,000.  That’s just a quick look at competition.

Which gets us to MN’s main question “Is there anything that helps these days?”  Price, price, price.  In this market, homes are selling, but the price has to be right.  If you are getting showings, but no offers, then there is something about the home that isn’t right.  Perhaps pet smells, or “bold” colors, or spotty carpets… things that turn off buyers, but that we sometimes are blind to when we live there every day (yes, Realtors are like that too).  If you are not getting showings, it is only one thing and that is Price.  Rethink how you arrived at the price you are at now.  Review the comps that were used.  Did you only compare Heritage solds, or did a few Saguaro listings get in there too?  That will put your comp price too high and you’ll miss your target buyers.   And look at the actives in Heritage Commons now… in this market it is not good enough to be priced better than your neighbor, if your neighbor is too high also.  You have to be priced competetively to what real buyers have actually paid in the last month or so.   An example of pricing to move would be a 2 year old Tahoe Delano that sold at the end of March in Heritage Commons for $300,000… ten days on the market.  A little low?  Perhaps.  But it did the job, and now they are on to the rest of their life.  And they didn’t make a lot of extra house payments on a home they wanted to leave.

I hope this helps everyone.  It holds true for all neighborhoods, not just these two.  When you’re selling a home, it is simply a matter of how badly you need to be out of it, and how soon do you need to make that happen.  I hear sellers say “I won’t take less than $xxx,000“.  Defending a price is fine, but if the buyers are all saying “We won’t pay more than $www,000″,  you might be holding that house a long time in this market.

Oh man, has my coffee gotten COLD!  Sorry for the long post… we can continue in the comments if anyone wants to continue.