"We Don't NEED to Sell"

Seller Motivation (and Lack Thereof)

Does "not needing to sell" make your house worth more?

At least some Sellers seem to think so.

Put it this way:

You seldom hear a Buyer, in the middle of a negotiation, say, "You know, we don't NEED to buy."

Yet Sellers, on the other side of the same negotiation, increasingly can be heard to say, "We don't NEED to sell."

Which begs the question: so why are you?

Real vs. Fake Leverage

What that statement is really about is perceived leverage.

If you don't really need to sell (at least the owners' thinking goes), you can hold out for a higher price.

Maybe so.

But that doesn't change the Comp's, which Realtors and appraisers alike use to establish value.

And therefore, that stance is not likely to raise the Seller's market value.

P.S.: By contrast, extreme Seller motivation can certainly lower it.

P.P.S.: As often as not, "not needing to sell" causes Sellers to set (and hold out for) for an unrealistic price, which leads to undue market time, which leads to . . . an artificially low price.