I went out this morning on a Realtor tour in the Queen Creek area. In Johnson Ranch we saw some beautiful homes for around $200,000. Amazing!
I was struck, however, by the fact that 3 or 4 homes on tour had not had one showing yet! Not one! And these homes had been on the market for at least a month.
Boy, that’s a tough deal for the sellers. You can’t sell a home if no one sees it.
By chance, one of the Realtors on the tour happened to mention that she had been a counselor in a previous life. After getting only 3 hours of sleep the night before, my mind wandered and I wondered if sellers in Johnson Ranch go through the Five Stages of Grief.
I’m going to throw out this idea and would love to hear your opinion.
The Five Stages of Grief for Home Sellers in Johnson Ranch (Maricopa, Surprise, …)
- Denial - “My house is worth a lot more than that!”
- Anger - “That Realtor isn’t doing any work at all to sell my house!”
- Bargaining - “Okay, if I can just break even.”
- Depression - “I was a fool to buy this house.”
- Acceptance - “Its not my fault. I don’t control the market. I may not be able to afford to sell now, but in the meantime I’ll be living in a beautiful home.”
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Jay Thompson 05.18.07 at 10:40 am
I think it’s a good analogy, and one that many are going through right now (and maybe *all the time*).
Of course, for some “acceptance” isn’t as simple as “I’ll just keep living here”. Job transfers, layoffs (or other reasons for having less income), and upward rate adjustments can make just sticking it out an unviable option….
John L. Wake - Realtor 05.18.07 at 11:00 am
Yes, those are the people who I feel sorry for. Through no fault of their own, they have to sell at a bad time.
If you can control when you sell, you will be fine.
Geri C. 05.19.07 at 10:27 pm
Yeah - we are one of those unfortunates who have had to relocate for job purposes and our house sits unsold in Queen Creek after 5 months. We have lowered the price 2 times, about to lower it again and find another realtor (one who does it full time!!), hopefully we can move it soon! Bad timing for sellers…that is the truth on our end, anyway!
John L. Wake - Realtor 05.20.07 at 12:34 pm
Definitely use a full time Realtor!
David 06.22.07 at 5:19 am
The five stages seem about right. I’m the typical CA. Investor. I bought in 2005 for 164,000 and watched it climb to 230,000 and now it’s around 200,000. I have it rented it to a nice man and his grandson. the rent is around $900 and i still have a small negative cash flow. I am lucky. I have no intention to sell it and i will ride the wave out.