When selling luxury homes, be very mindful of how long your property sits on the market. According to a leading auctioneer of luxury homes, when a property sits on the market for more than 180 days – it will likely sell for 20% to 50% below the list price.
Owners of waterfront homes on St. Thomas and St. Thomas luxury homes in general, need to be mindful, especially in these times of economic uncertainty. Buyers see an opportunity when a home lingers on the market. And when it’s a luxury property, where the pool of Buyers is small, it becomes bait for sharks.
I had an owner leave an estimated $1-million on the table by testing the market and artificially inflating the list price of this extraordinary East End St Thomas residence. He couldn’t understand why this waterfront compound on St. Thomas was not getting offers. Well, it either makes a buyer feel foolish to offer substantially lower, or the buyer reckons, it’s a waste of time.
And time did indeed trigger a waste – a waste of money. When the owner became desperate, the sale price reflected that. Markets can change quickly – so if you’re willing to hear your real estate professional’s advice – and list your luxury St Thomas home based on market indicators – chances are you will earn more at the closing table than you would by testing, challenging, fighting the marketplace.
Pricing is subjective. So, there’s always a spread suggested to sellers – the upper-end list price vs. the fire-sale list price, and everything in between. But when the list price visits the stratosphere, very few pocketbooks are willing to leave planet earth.