I recently listed a piece of property where the sellers had it priced quite a bit above what the comparative market analysis showed that the property was worth.  We had shown the property time and time again and most every prospect that we showed the home to said that the house was overpriced. 

When I talked with the seller they kept telling me that I was not trying hard enough.  They kept coming up with ideas, mail outs, and more advertising to try and get their property sold.  In other words, the reason their home had not sold had nothing to do with the price they put on it, but the lack of effort that James Wedgeworth was putting forth to get their property sold.  Daily, I would get a phone call from them suggesting another marketing idea.

The name of our company is Charter I Realty and Marketing and we take marketing very seriously.  There is a level at which you can market a property “until the cows come home” and you will not be able to sell it.

One of the top real estate agents in America once asked me, “how much marketing would it take to sell a property in a slow market for 20% more than the property was worth?”  After thinking about it, I quickly answered – unlimited.  It does not matter how much you market a property if it is overvalued – it simply will not sell. 

On Hilton Head Island, the reason for that as it is in most other places, is that buyers are not stupid.  Buyers are well aware of what is on the market, nobody looks at one property – they shop around and compare your property to other similar properties listed for sale.  Sure, you might have more ceiling fans, you might have better carpet, and you might have even upgraded your counter tops, but there is a limit to what people will pay for such upgrades.  They are still going to look at other real estate on Hilton Head and make a decision based on that.

It is more than James Wedgeworth not trying.  I think most of my clients would agree that I have never had a deficiency in that effort, but there is only so much that one agent can do in a slow market.  “I can’t walk on water, but I can tread fairly well”.