For sellers, letting go of that dream price is hard to do
The standoff between sellers and buyers over prices appears to be intensifying.
You'd think with home sales now in an arctic deep freeze that sellers would adjust their expectations.
But just the opposite is happening, that new survey just out from HomeGain finds.
In fact, it might be the most surprising tidbit tucked in there.
Nearly 80 percent of homeowners surveyed in a recent national poll commissioned by HomeGain contend their homes should sell for more than the price recommended by their real estate agents. And guess what, that's up from an already disturbingly high 77 percent in the last quarter, the survey of 2,600 homeowners finds.
Sure, price reductions are at a record level, especially here in Greater Boston, as Trulia has found. But how much of this is just for show in order to attract a buyer, rather than a real effort to find the right price, however painful?
And here's another clue as well when it comes to the mindset of today's supposedly desperate seller.
For when it comes to market optimism, sellers appear to have stolen a page from the Realtor playbook when it comes to denying reality.
More than 18 percent of sellers think prices will actually rise over the next six months, compared to just 10 percent of real estate agents and brokers surveyed by HomeGain.
Just 23 percent of sellers believe prices will fall, with the rest apparently seeing no change ahead up or down in prices.
Meanwhile, despite the showy price cutting, buyers are clearly not satisfied either.
Almost 70 percent of buyers and real estate agents surveyed contend the homes they are checking out are overpriced, up from 61 percent in the second quarter.
Now how's that for a standoff?
