Pricing and reductions

300 days? At 300 days, I don't care if the price is dropped or not, I feel I can offer what ever the hell I want.

For that matter, 60 days too.

Drop to be the lowest comp and do it ASAP. Prices are only going down so the sooner you can sell the better.

You're correct in that it depends on individual circumstances, but as someone who's seriously been looking to buy, I've made some assumptions (maybe incorrectly). If an apartment is listed at $1.5M or higher, a drop of $100,000 is pretty good. For an apartment under $1.5M, $50,000 at a time is more usual. If the price is reduced less than 90 days since listing or the last reduction, I assume the seller wants to sell now. For example, an apartment I'm monitering listed in early spring for a little over $1.3M, dropped $50,000 in Late summer and hasn't moved since. In that case, I'm assuming that the seller needs a higher price maybe because they have a large mortgage.

I'm with 11201. Why expect anybody to pay the same or more than the comps are going for? You could sit for months, leaking money, waiting for that certain someone who sees what makes your place special. (Especially since "special" usually means "because it's mine.")

Buy now or be priced out forever.

In my mind, if a property has/had traffic and no offers close to asking are forthcoming even after a price drop or two of ~3% each time, and over a period of 90 day to 1 year -- the pricing isn't right. Been following apts which have done this and yet no budging. As lobster points out, underlying large mortgages are also an issue. There are apts I've seen that were listed in early/mid 2008, maybe a small reduction, then pulled from market and then re-listed in 2009 for ~same price as first listing. I've checked ACRIS for mortgage information so can see which parties are hoping not to take a haircut, but plenty aren't.

Have to conclude they just don't see the market.

This weekend's NYTimes article about Hudson Heights/Ft Washington, where the broker says they are hardly being hit by the downturn? We've followed a number of apts there -- I don't know what planet that broker is from.... Let me see if I can find some listings.

How did you come up with the price? Your agent should be able to help with recent comps and comparable listings. That said, if everyone interested said it was too expensive, it probably is. Look at recent sales and adjust accordingly.

Here's one example, yes 3 price cuts totalling 11% overall, but still I think overpriced

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/393195-coop-117-seaman-ave-inwood-new-york

Sorry, I thought you were a seller, not a buyer. Some of the advice still applies: check for recent comparable sales, figure what price would work best for you, and make a stab at it. Don't even worry about the list price or their mortgage, not your problem. Write an e-mail with your offer, state your readiness to buy, and done. What's the worst that can happen? They say no, big deal.

maly - all true. i just am seeing these situations so frequently that i wonder, am i nuts? after 90 days or amazingly 200+ days with no price change, is the pricing really working?

We have our eye on a few properties that have been on/off market over the last year, we have comps, but they are clearly comparing their comps to peak of the market.