Do you suffer from PDS?

From a recent Realtor.com news feed comes this interesting article. Many sellers are suffering from an unfortunate condition called PDS (Price Denial Syndrome), said real estate trainer David Knox, of David Knox Productions in Minneapolis.

These sellers tend to resist the reality that they must lower the listing price of their home, unwilling to accept that the days of the boom market are gone, said Knox, who spoke at the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Orlando last week.

Common symptoms of Price Denial Syndrome include blaming their real estate agent for suggesting a price reduction and trying to justify why buyers would pay the higher price.

But we all know the truth: Homes are simply not going to sell if they are overpriced in the current market. In a hot market where demand outstrips supply, overpriced homes might sell, but in a falling market, overpriced homes sit unsold.

Sellers with Price Denial Syndrome offered these common objections:

“We really need the money.” The market really doesn’t care what you need from the house. The market only cares about what other similar house are selling for or have sold for recently.

“We can always reduce the price later.” Well, yeah, after all the potential buyers have by-passed your house. If you let the house set on the market for too long, because you have overpriced it; by the time that you get it priced right people will wonder what is wrong with it to cause it to sit for so long.

“Could we just try it at this price for two weeks?” The first couple of weeks that a house is on the market are generally the busiest, if it is priced right; because agents always are looking for something new to show their buyers. So you missed the “buzz” of being new, by being overpriced. Then there is the funny way that those “two weeks” turn into two months and you end up further behind the market.

"The guy down the street got what I want for mine last year" Sure and the year before that someone else in your area got even more. We have been dropping in values and price about 1% per month for the last 18-24 months. Forget what someone else got for their place some time back. That market is gone. You have to price to the market that is front of you right now.

“They can always make an offer.” They just really don’t get it. People won’t even see it; much less make an offer, if the house is overpriced for the market. Lots of buyers just don’t feel comfortable making “low-ball” offers, which is what they might have to do if you are really overpriced.


"My sister-in-law is a realtor in Chicago and she says that things aren't really that bad and that I should be able to get my price." I love that one. Someone in another state who doesn't understand our local market and likely doesn't understand how your home compares to others in the market is giving you advice - and you're listening! Talk about the blind leading the blind.

If you feel that you may have PDS, start by re-reading some of the many local media articles about housing value loses in your area. Go to my Web site and click on the Real Estate Market Statistics choice and then go down the page until you see the Zillow.com logo. If you click on the highlighted link in that paragraph you will go to an interactive Zillow.com page that will allow you to roll your mouse over your location and those around you to see just how much value has been lost in the last year in your community. Of course, I've focused upon the market in my little corner of southeastern Michigan.

After that, call or email me and ask me to do a Comparative Market Analysis for you on your home. You may not like the result, but it will be an honest report, supported by data, of what your house is currently worth on the market. You don’t have to like it, but you can’t deny it. If you want to sell or if you need to sell, that is what you are likely to get. The challenge then becomes how fast you can get that price for the house. I can definitely help with that, too. Call today.