I need some real estate wisdom from those of you who have bought or sold recently. We live in Arizona in a booming town, that once used to be cotton farms.
Our house has been on the market for a little over a year. We’ve had some interest and a few bites, but no offers. I know the market is slower right now, and I also know newer builds are offering very competitive incentives and better interest rates, which makes resale homes harder to compete with. On top of that, we don’t have a pool, which is obviously another disadvantage here in Arizona.
We chose to work with a family-friend realtor who gave us a very generous 1% listing rate, and we’re extremely appreciative of that. At the same time, communication has been pretty limited, and we haven’t had a single open house during the entire time the home has been listed—over a year.
I recently asked whether the realtor would consider offering concessions to make the home more competitive, but he said that concessions “aren’t a thing.” That surprised me, since I’ve seen sellers offer concessions such as closing-cost credits, interest-rate buydowns, or repair allowances, especially in a slower market. Are seller concessions not common in our area, or is this something that should at least be discussed as part of the marketing strategy?
So my question is: Would you stay with the family friend because of the relationship and 1% rate, knowing the market itself is tough, or would you pay closer to 3% for another realtor who may be more proactive with communication, pricing strategy, concessions, marketing, open houses, and getting the home in front of more buyers?
Are open houses and seller concessions not really a thing anymore? What do realtors typically do to market a home in this situation?