JULIE GARDNER
  • HOME
  • COMPASS
    • WHY COMPASS?
    • COMPASS CONCIERGE
    • COMPASS BRIDGE LOANS
  • LISTINGS
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT JULIE
    • A DYNAMIC PARTNERSHIP
    • CONTACT
    • PROCESS
    • TESTIMONIALS
    • PRESS
  • PROJECTS
    • BEFORE & AFTER
    • GARDENS
    • OUR TEAM
    • VIDEOS
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • UTILITIES
    • SCHOOLS

Volume 171 - I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough and Dog gone it, People Like Me!

2/16/2011

0 Comments

 
"Can I have approval please? I need approval..." came the plaintive request over the intercom system in CVS last week. I couldn't help but chuckle as I listened to the monotone plea from the uncomfortable cashier and flashed onto the image of Stuart Smalley from Saturday Night Live. His self-reflective monologues always ended with "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog gone it, people like me." Now that's approval!

In real estate, the need for approval is no less important. Sometimes, the approval one seeks, comes via validation from friends and family in the midst of a Sunday Open. Sometimes it arrives by way of your agent through careful analysis of the numbers. Sometimes, the approval comes during inspections when all is going well.  And every once in awhile it arrives along with the moving boxes and the neighborhood welcoming committee. With so much at stake, most buyers don't just crave approval, they need approval before moving happily forward with their purchase. And why shouldn't they? We all feel better knowing that a smart decision was made and our decisions are confirmed when others believe it too!

Likewise, Sellers also need approval. When sellers bring their homes to the market, it can be an invasive, gut-wrenching process. Having purged their shelves of old art projects, well-loved books and all manner of collectibles; having patched, painted and staged their home so that it is barely recognizable to them or their kids, and having gardened, cleaned and swept the inside and out so that it's darn near monastic; sellers naturally want their home to be "popular" with the buying public.

When it isn't - despite their best attempts - it's a bit like being the kid who wasn't asked to the prom (okay, that kid was me). No matter how much we love our homes, we want to know that other people love them as well. Unlike stock investments one randomly buys and sells, homes are largely emotional statements - for buyer and sellers alike.

Still, regardless of how "emotionally compelling" a home presents, it must also feel like a "good value" at the end of the day in order for a qualified buyer to step in. Or to quote the supremely dynamic, Tina Turner, "What's love got to do with it?" The truth is that neighbors, friends and buyers can all "love" your home but if it isn't priced right, the chances of it selling are greatly reduced in our more conservative marketplace. (Sorry!)

Having seen a dramatic correction in home values the last few years (even in high-end communities) many buyers feel inclined to exercise restraint in their next home purchase. This is especially true of first-time buyers who come to the table with NO equity from a previous home. Even those who might comfortably afford more, are often buying less expensive homes and who can blame them? More seasoned buyers have experienced first hand the shift in power.

So if waiting isn't in your game plan, you will want to list your home with a market value slightly under neighborhood comps. And if you've been on the market for more than two weeks without an offer coming forward, it may be time to reduce your asking price. When your demands meet market expectation, you're likely to get "approval" in spades.

"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog gone it, people like me!

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Subscribe

    Author

    Julie Gardner, has been writing The Perspective for 18 years and has published more than 775 humorous but always informative, essays on life and real estate. 

    Picture

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008
    March 2008

    Categories

    All
    Business
    Design
    Drought
    Holiday
    Home Maintenance
    Homes For Sale
    Life
    Market
    Politics
    Renovation

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn
Piedmont · Oakland · Berkeley
 510.326.0840
[email protected]
DRE# 01431765
​COMPASS

  • HOME
  • COMPASS
    • WHY COMPASS?
    • COMPASS CONCIERGE
    • COMPASS BRIDGE LOANS
  • LISTINGS
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT JULIE
    • A DYNAMIC PARTNERSHIP
    • CONTACT
    • PROCESS
    • TESTIMONIALS
    • PRESS
  • PROJECTS
    • BEFORE & AFTER
    • GARDENS
    • OUR TEAM
    • VIDEOS
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • UTILITIES
    • SCHOOLS